DMC: Birthday Bash
by Sin Oan
Summary: Patty celebrates her 13th birthday with Dante and the gang, but things take a turn for the bizarre when she makes a wish and is whisked away ...
1. Chapter 1: Make a Wish

**DEVIL MAY CRY: BIRTHDAY BASH**

Notes: This story is not related to or connected with any of my previous DMC works. It contains some minor spoilers for the Devil May Cry Animated Series. It is Patty x Dante, but not in the way you might think (read chapter 2 to see why).

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_Chapter 1: Make a Wish_

Trish shoved Dante's feet off the desk for the fifth time, treating him to a stern look that was disconcertingly maternal.

"Cut that out, will ya? I'm trying to relax here," he said.

"You're supposed to be helping. Remember Dante? When you said 'sure, I'll help out' half an hour ago?"

Dante squinted with the effort of recollection. "I may have said something to that effect. Still, you hardly need my help, you're finished now, right?"

"No thanks to you," Lady scowled from across the office floor. Dante ignored her. It was a good way to avoid getting stressed, he'd learnt. He was in fact supposed to be helping decorate his office for a surprise birthday party. Patty Lowell had just turned 13. Consequently, Lady and Trish had bugged him all day long until he finally gave in and agreed, and now his office looked ... well, like a kids birthday party. Streamers, plates of junk food, irritating music, a huge big cake that had given Dante a sore hand (on account of Trish slapping it whenever it went near said cake), even a big 'Happy Birthday' sign on the wall behind his desk where he normally hung some of his swords. All of his weapons had in fact been removed, much to his dismay.

"Geez, this place is so girly," Dante moaned, stubbing a finger onto the frilly pink tablecloth that covered his desk.

"Don't know why you're complaining so much Dante," said Lady, who was herself leaning back against his food-laden pool table, "You get to spend the entire evening in a room full of beautiful women. I can't see how that's so bad."

"Oh, sure," he muttered, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms with a sigh, "I mean we've got someone who's the spitting image of my mother, a thirteen year old jailbait girl and her mother, and of course you; who I've no doubt would shove a grenade down my throat if I made a pass at you. Seriously, what's not to love about that crowd?"

Lady smirked. "Well, I'd definitely shove a grenade somewhere, but it wouldn't be down your throat."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Trish sighed. "Can you at least pretend to be having a good time? For her sake?"

Before he could answer, Lady spoke first; "Of course he can - pretending to have fun for the ladies? Does it all the time."

"Hey! For your information, I haven't even-" he paused for a split second before trailing off, "-never mind."

The eyebrows of both ladies shot up a notch. Lady pushed away from the pool table, giving Trish a conspiratorial look before advancing towards Dante with a sway in her stride. "You're not telling us that the great and legendary Dante hasn't had any action in a long time?"

"Action is my business," Dante countered, trying to sound his usual cocky self.

"I meant of the horizontal kind," she purred, leaning her hands onto his desk and peering over her expensive shades at him. Dante rubbed the back of his neck and tried to avoid staring at what was staring him in the face. Lady frowned, an amused smile showing on her face. "You ... have been with a woman, right Dante?" She waited a moment, before tilting her head slightly, "A man?"

"I've been kinda busy, what with saving the world and all," he said, meeting her gaze, "Several times. Not to mention the whole demon killing business."

"Dante, you are the poster child for boredom," Trish cut in, placing her hands on her hips and giving him another one of her looks, "If you're not fighting demons then you're moping around being lazy all day long."

"I think what she's saying Dante, is that you've had more than enough time," said Lady. "I mean you're, what, thirty something now? You can't still be a-"

"Woh there, time out ladies," Dante said making the time out sign with his hands, "We are not discussing my love life, okay?"

"Or lack thereof."

"Yes. No. Just ... drop it."

It was no good, Trish and Lady were standing together giggling their heads off. He got up and scowled at them. "Look, it took my old man two millennia before he got lucky, cut me some slack, will yah?"

At this they stared at him and then burst into a fit of laughter. Dante sagged, both physically and mentally. "I think I'm going to go stab myself with my sword," he said, "It'll make me feel better."

For some inexplicable reason this only produced a renewed wave of laughter from them. Lady actually fell to her knees and clutched her side. Dante shook his head and disappeared into the back.

Five minutes later Patty and her mother Nina arrived. Although they did their best to surprise the birthday girl, it was obvious she was expecting them, though was no less thrilled for that.

"Oh it's so wonderful!" She gushed, clapping her hands together and looking around at the decorated office. "Oh, and I love this song!"

Trish sidled over to Nina, who was looking somewhat guilty. "She knew?" Trish asked quietly. Nina nodded.

"She tricked it out of me. She's getting smarter as she's getting older."

"They usually do," Trish said, smiling.

"Where's Dante?" asked Patty.

"He's in the back," answered Lady, jabbing a thumb over her shoulder, "Between you and me, he's been missing you a lot."

"Really?"

Lady nodded. "I think you should give him an extra big hug when he comes in."

As if on cue, the devil in red emerged from the back and was immediately accosted by a high-speed teenage girl in pink, who slammed into him and wrapped her hands about him, knocking the breath from him. It had been a while since he had last seen Patty, and she had been a good deal shorter and smaller then. Across the room Lady managed to catch his eye and blew him a mischievous kiss.

"Okay, great to see you too kid, you can let go now. No, really," Dante tried to pry her off, yet somehow failed to budge her an inch. Finally an idea occurred to him and he pointed at a table to his left, "Hey, don't you want to open your presents?"

He had said the magic word, and Patty finally released him. She clapped her hands again and stared at the neat pile of wrapped shapes with wide eyes, while Dante breathed sigh of relief. He watched her open her gifts and make appropriate noises, 'oohing' and 'ahhing' as the wrapping was torn away. From Lady she received an i-pod, with a collection of her favourite songs already stored on it. Trish had given her some new clothes, which was to her as a years supply of strawberry sundae was to Dante.

Patty grasped the present from Dante and grinned at him. "You got me something!"

"Well, yeah," Dante scratched the back of his head, uncomfortable. The girl gasped as the paper fell away.

"The entire DVD set of Ah, My Goddess!" The excited look on her little face soon faded, replaced with a shrewd expression. She pointed the DVD's at Dante accusingly. "Did you really get me this?"

"He paid for it, yes," said Lady, "But I got it for him after I saw what he was going to give you."

"What was he going to give me?"

"A stack of girly mags."

Patty was puzzled. "That doesn't sound so bad."

"The wrong kind of girly mags, Patty."

"Huh?" Then a light bulb went off in her head. "Oh. Ohhh! Dante!" She rounded on him, hands on hips and treating him to a full power guilt trip glare.

"What?" said Dante, vaguely aware that he'd done something wrong but not sure what. "You're into that romantic stuff, right? It's all the same thing."

Lady rolled her eyes and Trish crossed her arms and shook her head, while Patty stamped her foot indignantly. "It is not the same thing! Romance, things like this-" she waved the DVD's, "-are all about love and kindness and ... and emotions! It's not smut!"

Dante shrugged. "If you say so kid."

Patty fumed. "I do say so, and I'm not a kid!"

"Patty, why don't you cut the cake now?" said Nina, trying to defuse the situation. Still angry at Dante, Patty put her present down and strode towards the pool table where the cake lay. It was spectacular, a large circular sponge with pink icing, whipped cream and strawberries. And of course, thirteen burning candles.

"Oh yes, you have to make a wish first, isn't that right?" said Lady. "Just remember not to tell us what it is or it wont come true."

Patty thought that was all nonsense. She didn't believe in wishes, or Father Christmas, or even the tooth fairy. Personal experience had taught her that what you really got were demons, evil spirits and humans that murder one another. Romance, true love though ... those things were real weren't they? They had to be, or else what was the point?

Everyone was standing around expectantly. In Dante's case it was the expectation of cake, as he had an empty plate in one hand. Patty glanced at him and then back at the candles. Well, she thought sullenly, it couldn't hurt to try could it? She leaned over, made a wish and blew out the candles.

Then she vanished.

There was a shocked silence. Slowly, Dante reached out and plucked one of the candles from the top of the cake, its tip still streaming with smoke. He examined it for a moment and then held it before the others.

"Trick candles?"


	2. Chapter 2: Blast from the Past

**DEVIL MAY CRY: BIRTHDAY BASH**

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_Chapter 2: Blast from the Past_

Patty leaned back and opened her eyes, expecting to see and smell the smoke from the extinguished birthday candles. Instead, it was dark all around her, which made her heart skip a beat. She blinked a few times and then cleared her throat.

"Okay, you can put the lights back on, the jokes over," Patty said, trying not to sound as scared as she suddenly felt. Something was very wrong. It was colder, and some part of her mind felt that the space around her, although shrouded in darkness, was somehow larger than Dante's office. She carefully reached out with her hands to find the pool table that should be in front of her, but her hands just passed through empty air. Pulling them back after several failed attempts, she let them fall to her side and frowned.

"Dante? Mom? What's going on?" she called out. This time she noticed that her voice seemed to echo slightly. Where was she? She knelt down and cautiously touched the ground. It felt like smooth, glossy tiles. Definitely not Dante's office then. Weird. Not scary though, no. At least, that's what she told herself to try and stay calm.

As Patty stood upright, she heard footsteps, very faint but growing closer. She turned in the direction of the sound, her eyes going wide even though they could see nothing whatsoever. She thought about calling out again, to ask who was there, but her voice had deserted her.

Suddenly something stumbled into her, knocking her over. Patty fell hard, but the wince of pain was lost to her loud screaming as whatever it was fell on top of her. As she screamed, she was vaguely aware of someone else screaming as well, and then the darkness vanished in a blinding flare of bright light. When her eyes adjusted, she found herself looking into the face of a young boy who he seemed every bit as shocked as she did. They stopped screaming at the same time and stared at each other.

The boy was about the same size as her, maybe a bit shorter and younger, though not by much. His eyes were bright blue and his messy mop of hair was unmistakably white, an all-too familiar combination. His mouth closed and his cheeks suddenly turned bright red as he realised he was lying on top of a girl. Neither of them said anything for a long moment, too stunned to speak, and when words finally entered her ears it came from somewhere else in the room, the voice of another young boy.

"Dante, why were you screaming? What are ..." the voice trailed off. The boy glanced around for a split second and when his head turned back, Patty was even more shocked than she had been, something she hadn't thought possible a moment ago.

"D-Dante? Your name is Dante?"

The boy pushed himself upright and stood, brushing himself off and trying to regain his composure. "Yeah, that's my name, don't wear it out," he said, still blushing. "Who are you? And how did you get into my house?"

Patty got herself to her feet, winced from her sore back and shoulder blades where she had hit the ground, and looked around. The light was coming from a pair of electric chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, and revealed a huge stately gothic hall, like something out of a mansion. A huge flight of stairs dominated the centre of the hall, leading up to a second floor lined with large windows that were mostly covered by decorative curtains. Her questing gaze found the boy again.

"Your house? You live here?"

"Umm, yeah."

Patty noticed movement, and spotted the source of the voice that had spoken earlier. It belonged to another boy, identical in every way to the one named Dante save for the fact that he wore a blue shirt, whilst Dante wore a red one. It was the only way she could tell them apart. Twins? He stopped next to Dante, looking back and forth between the two of them, and then leaned his head close to Dante's and whispered; "Seriously, Dante, what's going on?"

"I don't know, I just bumped into her in the dark."

Patty remembered the footsteps in the dark and the terrible fright he had given her, and her confusion took a back seat for a moment. "Yeah, what exactly were you doing creeping around a room with the lights out?" she asked, folding her arms, "That's really not safe."

Dante frowned. "I was playing hide and seek with my brother. Now who are you?"

"You have a brother?" Patty shook her head, trying to get things straight. "Wait, are you really the Dante I know? You cant be, but you do look like him. You're just a bit young."

"Uhh, Vergil, she's not really making any sense."

"Tell me about it."

Patty pointed at Vergil. "Seriously, you have a twin brother? Why didn't you ever tell me that?"

Vergil gave his brother a shrewd look. "So you _do_ know her then?"

"No!" said Dante, "I've never met her before in my life."

"Yeah, so you say, but when I find you the pair of you are making out in the dark-"

"We weren't making out!" Both Patty and Dante protested at the same time.

"That's like, totally gross!" Patty added.

"Yeah, exactly," Dante said, nodding. Patty glared at him.

"Wait, why? Is there something wrong with me?" she demanded. Dante blinked, taken aback.

"What? But you just said-"

"I know what I said, but that was because of a reason I know about and you don't. You said it would be gross to make out with me, and I want to know why! Are you saying that _I'm_ gross?"

Dante gaped at her. He tried to answer, but only vague noises came from his throat that weren't very coherent. Vergil suddenly laughed and clapped Dante on the shoulder, wiping one of his eyes with a finger.

"Oh, you guys crack me up," He straightened up and faced Patty directly. "Okay miss-whatever your name is, do you know my brother or don't you? And who are you?"

Patty faced him down, unflinching. "I don't know if I know you or not, that depends entirely on whether or not you are who I think you are."

Vergil had to think about that for a moment. "Well, are we?"

"I don't know. Umm, let me think ... oh! Your mother!"

"What about her?"

"Her name - is it Eva?"

Dante and Vergil exchanged a glance and then looked back at her, frowning. "Yes."

"Okay, so maybe you are who I think. The date, what's the date? I mean the year?"

"It's 1984," said Vergil, "How hard did you hit your head when Dante knocked you over?"

"Maybe she's a time traveller," suggested Dante.

He's right, she thought, I am. If it really is 1984 then that _is_ Dante, and I have gone back over twenty years into the past. Wow. How did _that_ happen? She groaned, suddenly remembering what she had been doing just before everything changed; she'd been making a wish. Somehow, that wish had done this. It was ridiculous, but it was the only thing she could think of. It had to be some kind of magic.

"Good point," said Vergil, smirking now, "Maybe she's your daughter from the future, and that's why she thought it was gross to be making out with you."

Dante's eyes went wide. "You're not, are you?"

"Don't be silly," she said. Inside her head, all sorts of thoughts and feelings were whirling around, throwing her into turmoil. She couldn't let them know that she was from the future; she couldn't risk changing things. Dante had - no, would - save the world many times, and if she did something to mess that up then she might get back to her own time only to find it overrun by demons. Still, a chance to meet Dante as a child was too cool to pass up. And he had a twin brother! Where was Vergil in her time? And wasn't Dante so cute!

Vergil was laughing, and she realised that she had been staring at Dante, who was blushing again. Worse than that ...

"Oh god, did I just say you were cute out loud?"

Dante nodded, Vergil continued to snigger and Patty suddenly felt very warm. She turned away from them and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "My name is ... Skuld."

"Funny name," said Vergil.

"Look who's talking," said Dante.

"I was named for a mythical goddess," said Patty, feeling a sudden urge to impress them. "One of the Norns - three beings who controlled fate. She was also leader of the Valkyrie." Just thank heavens neither of them have ever watched Ah My Goddess, she thought.

"Cool," said Dante. "We were named after some boring old guys."

"Poets, Dante," said Vergil.

"Uh-huh."

Patty whirled around, drinking in once again the sight of such a grand hall. "This place looks huge. How come you live somewhere like this?"

"Our dad is loaded," said Vergil.

Sparda! "Your dad is here?"

Both boys suddenly became uncomfortable, and she felt she had hit a nerve. Dante had lost his parents, hadn't he? She gave herself a mental kick.

"He's missing."

"I'm sorry."

"Not your fault. So, what now?"

Patty thought fast. She clasped her hands together and looked up at the ceiling. "Oh. Well I come from a family of sorcerers, and I guess I was playing with things I shouldn't have been. I think I've been teleported here by accident."

"Why here though?" asked Vergil, somewhat sceptical. Patty glanced at him. He was cute too, she realised. Bit of a stupid realisation, seeing as he was Dante's identical twin brother. She tried not to stare.

"Not sure. Umm. Fate maybe?"

"She could be a demon," Dante whispered to his brother.

"She can hear you, you know," Patty scowled. "And talk about the pot calling the kettle black."

"What?" Both twins said at the same time.

"Nothing," she said innocently. Did they know they were demons? Now that she thought about it, Patty didn't actually know very much about Dante. She knew he was a lazy slob that had a very unhealthy diet. She knew he had lost his parents just as she had, and Trish had told her that his mother's name had been Eva. Unlike her however, Dante had never been reunited with his mother. The Dante in her time rarely, if ever, spoke about himself or his past. Well now was her chance to find out more. Time for a bit of reverse psychology ...

"Well I'm sorry for dropping in on you like this," she said sweetly, "I can see you're very ... umm, busy. I'll just be getting back-"

"Wait!" Dante took a step towards her.

"Yes?"

He glanced back at Vergil and then stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Maybe you could stick around here. For a while at least. What do you say, Verge?"

Vergil shrugged, though his face suggested that he clearly agreed with his brother. "Sure, we could use the company."

"Well ..." Patty looked doubtful, though in truth she was jumping for joy inside.

"C'mon. You hungry?" Dante asked her. She thought about all the party food that had been laid out for her ... and the fact that she hadn't gotten around to touching any of it. Her stomach growled and she recalled that she'd avoided eating anything before because she knew about her surprise party and had wanted to leave room to stuff her face. Food sounded like a good idea.

"Sure, why not." She followed him towards a large double-oak door at the edge of the hall, with Vergil bringing up the rear, smirking. "Oh, by the way, Dante?"

"Yeah?"

"You scream like a girl."


	3. Chapter 3: Alone in the Dark

**DEVIL MAY CRY: BIRTHDAY BASH**

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_Chapter 3: Alone in the Dark_

Patty finished off the last of her chicken sandwich and washed it down with a sip of lemonade. "Well," she said with a contented sigh, "at least you stock food other than pizza."

"Mmm, pizza ..." Dante and Vergil said together.

Patty rolled her eyes. Some things never changed. She downed the rest of her drink and set the empty glass on the table. "So if you don't mind me asking, who looks after you here?"

"Our mom does, I suppose," said Vergil unhappily. Patty picked up on his tone at once and frowned.

"What does that mean? Surely she takes good care of you?"

Dante folded his arms and leaned against the kitchen table. "She's been a bit busy lately."

"Lately?"

"Ever since our dad disappeared," said Vergil, "She spends most of her time these days locked in his study, trying to figure out where he went."

Dante nodded. "She thinks he's still alive, somewhere. We heard her arguing with someone a few weeks ago though, and the guy she was talking to said our dad was dead."

"He can't be," Vergil insisted, shaking his head, "Nothing could have killed him."

"You mean Sparda," said Patty. Both twins instantly looked at her with a mixture of fear and suspicion.

"How did you know that?" Vergil demanded.

"Yeah, you knew who our mother was as well," said Dante, "Have you been spying on us or something?"

Patty hesitated for a moment. "I, uhh, well I've seen pictures of him and the two of you look so much like him, I figured you just had to be his." She endured their stares for a few more moments before continuing, "So what do you think happened to him?"

Dante just shrugged, but Vergil looked thoughtful. "I'm not sure, but the last time I saw him he was ... different. He kept saying that he needed more power."

"What for?"

Now it was Vergil who shrugged. Back in her own time, Patty had heard talk about Sparda at the Devil May Cry office. Usually some vague mention from Lady. She knew he was a legend among demons, even some humans, but one thing she could tell for sure was that Dante hadn't liked him very much. Or at all. He just didn't seem to care. At the time Patty couldn't understand why, but from what they had told her now it was no wonder; Sparda hadn't been taken from them, he'd just upped and left them one day and never returned.

Maybe she could help? Then again, wouldn't that risk changing things? Well, it couldn't hurt to at least take a look. Besides, she'd quite like to meet their mother. She hopped down off the chair. "Mind if I have a peek?"

Dante coughed. "At what?"

"Hmm? Oh! At your fathers study. Maybe I can spot something you missed."

The twins looked at each other, and then shrugged again at the same time. It was funny to see, as if one of them was in front of a mirror. She had to wonder again what had happened to Vergil by her time.

They took her upstairs to the second floor, and Patty couldn't help but stick close to them. The place was ... spooky. It was actually quite dark; what little lighting there was cast shadows everywhere, and it looked every bit the stereotypical haunted house. Even the paintings were creepy.

"Scared?"

Patty looked at Dante, who was treating her to a cheeky smile. "No," she insisted. "I'm just as tough as any boy."

"Huh. Well you're definitely tougher than I am then. This place scares the hell outta me. Do you know how hard it was for me to creep through the hall, in the dark, on my own? Bumping into you didn't help either."

Patty was taken aback. Dante scared? That was like being told the world was flat. "You're afraid of the dark?"

He thought about it. "Sorta ... I am if I'm on my own. But it doesn't bother me if Vergil's with me."

"Really? Wow. I don't have any brothers or sisters, at least I don't think I have. I can't imagine what it's like to have a twin."

"Boo," said Vergil, right next to Patty's ear. She screamed and jumped. Dante sighed.

"It has its moments," he said.

"You little rat!" Patty spun and kicked Vergil in the shin. Even though she was a few years older than him, he barely seemed to notice. He looked down and then back up at her.

"Ouch."

"Knock it off, Verge," Dante scolded.

"Sorry," Vergil said without much conviction, "Didn't mean to frighten your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend Vergil."

"That's your story and I guess you're sticking to it."

Patty fumed. Even though he and Dante were very much alike, she was starting to dislike Vergil. She stood there, glaring at him, her fists trembling slightly by her sides. There was a sudden feeling inside her head, a strange kind of tickling that made her eyes go funny. Vergil looked surprised for a moment, and then a vase flew off its stand and sailed half a dozen feet through the air, where it smashed into his head, knocking him to the floor.

Patty was shocked out of her anger and she gasped at what had happened. Vergil lay dazed amongst the scattered remains of the broken vase, blinking several times, as Dante came and stood beside Patty and peered at his brother.

"Oww, that really _did_ hurt!" Vergil said.

"Yeah, well you had it coming," said his brother, helping him to his feet. Vergil rubbed the new bruise on the side of his head.

"Did you see that? Her eyes glowed."

"What?" said Patty.

"I missed that, but I saw the vase fly through the air and hit you," said Dante. He turned to Patty. "How did you do that?"

She didn't know what to say. "I don't know what to say," she said. "Did I do that? That's never happened before."

"That could have seriously hurt me," Vergil moaned. Dante waved a hand at him.

"No it couldn't. You've been hurt worse than that before and been fine. You're just sore that you got floored by a girl. Easily at that."

"Hmm. C'mon, the study is this way," he said, and sulked off down the dark corridor. Patty watched him go and actually felt very sorry.

"I didn't mean to do that," she told Dante, wringing her hands.

"Forget about it. It's actually good to know we're not the only ones," he replied.

"Huh?" Patty turned and gave him a questioning look. Dante hesitated for a moment, trying to decide if he should tell her or not.

"Well ... we've had strange stuff happen to us too, things that aren't normal. Cuts just heal themselves, bruises disappear in a few minutes ... I even fell off the roof last week. Should have gone splat on the ground, but I landed on my feet like a cat; it barely stung."

"Because you're the son - the sons of Sparda. Right?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Not to brag, but we're not normal kids. You're not either. Something to do with coming from a family of sorcerers, am I right?"

"Makes sense I guess," admitted Patty. Now that she thought about it, it did. While she didn't exactly come from a family of magicians as she had told Dante, she _was_ descended from one of the most powerful sorcerers of all time. If she had inherited some of his powers then it could easily explain how she made a vase fly through the air and hit Vergil, _and_ how she had got here in the first place. Did that mean she could just wish herself back to her own time? She wasn't sure, but she didn't want to try in case it worked - she didn't want to leave here just yet.

"Come on, we better not leave your brother waiting. It's dark and he might get scared on his own."

Dante nodded and the pair set off down the corridor after Vergil.

* * *


	4. Chapter 4: Mystery Door

**DEVIL MAY CRY: BIRTHDAY BASH**

* * *

_Chapter 4: Mystery Door_

"It's locked," said Vergil.

"Is mom in there?" Dante asked as he and Patty approached.

"Probably," He bent low and put his eye to the keyhole, shifting about to try and peek inside the room. "I can't see her though." He stood upright and knocked on the door. Several moments passed in silence, so he knocked again. Still nothing. He looked at Dante and shook his head.

"Mom? Mom, are you there?" Dante called out.

"Guess not then," said Vergil. Dante scratched his head.

"Where is she then? She told us she'd be working in there all night."

"Maybe she had to go to the bathroom?" Patty suggested, looking on nervously.

The twins began rummaging in their pockets, each moving closer to the door. "Well then," said Dante, "Now's as good a time as any to have a look."

"How are you going to get in if it's locked?"

They both produced a slim piece of metal and silently worked together to pick the lock. It seemed to take a long time, but in less than half a minute there was a click and the door opened a crack when Dante tried the ornate handle.

"Jackpot," they said, high-fiving and stowing their picks away. Patty gave a short laugh.

"Where did you learn to do _that_?" she asked as they opened the door to the study wide. She followed them in and looked around. There was no sign of their mother, and the room looked exactly as she had imagined; it had the appearance of stuffy old studies everywhere, with a cluttered desk, globe, bookcases, maps and other assorted things that her eyes slid over without really examining in detail.

Vergil shut the door behind her and stepped forwards to have a good look himself. He pointed to an old fashion electric lamp on the desk. "Lights are on. She was here sure enough, but she would have turned it off if she were finished."

"Maybe she did have to use the bathroom," Dante suggested, peering at some of the papers and books on the desk and instantly loosing interest in them. Patty stopped and looked up at a painting mounted on one of the walls; it showed a large winged figure with three eyes, towering above an army of red-eyed demons. The caption at the bottom read: Mundus. Patty shivered.

"Maybe she's still here," she said, turning back to face the boys. They just looked confused.

"Uh, I think we'd notice," Vergil said pointedly. Dante pointed at him.

"Not if she were invisible!"

"She's not invisible, Dante. If she were, don't you think she'd appear and ask us what Skuld is doing here?"

Patty sighed and made for the nearest bookcase. "I meant, what if there's a hidden passage or chamber in the room? There usually is in creepy old houses like this, especially in the study."

They watched her pulling books from the shelves and exchanged a glance. "Could be," said Dante, and began searching the study for any sign of a hidden switch or lever. Vergil couldn't think of anything to say to that, so he joined them.

"Well, I think we can safely say she hasn't just gone to the bathroom," Dante observed after fifteen minutes exhaustive poking and prodding of the room. The three sat at various places around the study, occasionally casting a glance about to see if they'd missed anything.

"There _must_ be a hidden room," said Vergil, annoyed at their lack of success, "Or else where is she? She wouldn't lock the room with the lights still on, and she did say she'd be in here for most of the night."

"Yeah, well unless Skuld can conjure up the answer, I'm all outta ideas. Well?" said Dante. Patty was only half listening.

"Hmm?"

"I said, do you have any other ideas?"

She was staring at the eerie Mundus painting she had noticed earlier. The main figure of the painting was pointing. She got up and reluctantly stood before it, turning slowly, trying to guage where in the room it might be pointing to as Dante and Vergil watched.

"What is it?" asked Vergil.

"I'm not sure," Patty couldn't be certain, but she thought that the figure in the painting was pointing at the globe. It could be coincidence, and a globe of the world was a pretty common item for a study. Still ... "Mundus ... do you know what that means?"

"Yeah," said Dante, crossing his arms, "It means evil bast-"

"Dante!" Vergil scolded.

"It means 'world'," Patty explained, ignoring them. "A painting with a caption meaning world is pointing at a world globe. Either that's a big coincidence, or it's a clue."

Vergil looked sceptical. "If you had a hidden room built into here, why would you need a clue to find it? You'd already know where it was."

Patty shrugged. "Maybe it was a kind of joke," She strode across the study towards the globe, a golden-brown sphere mounted into a sturdy wooden frame. They had already examined it in their search of the room, but they had given it little more than a casual glance and a spin. As she looked at it more intently, Dante and Vergil approached and peered at it as well.

"Yup," said Dante, "still just a globe."

"Wait! What's this ..." Patty leaned closer and picked at a tiny metal point at the hub of it.

"It's just the tip of the pin that holds it in place and lets you spin it," said Vergil.

Patty continued to pick at it until she was able to grasp the tiny nub and pull it, revealing it to be the tip of a small metal antenna, like the kind on radios. She pulled it as far as it would go and then stepped back with a triumphant expression.

"Huh," said Dante.

Nothing else happened. Secret passages completely failed to appear, and Patty scowled at it.

"Well it's something at least," admitted Vergil. Dante reached out and gave the globe another spin. This time they heard a low electrical hum, followed by a loud metal clang behind them. The three jumped and spun around, instantly spotting the metal rungs of a ladder in the corner of the room, which led up into the ceiling.

"I did it!" Patty exclaimed, excited, "I found the hidden secret passage! Ha!" She put her hands on her hips and glanced around at the twins with a smile. "I guess that means I'm smarter than both of you."

"Hey, I helped," Dante pointed out.

"Yeah, well ... let's see where it leads."

They stood at the bottom of the ladder and craned their necks up, but it was too dark to see where it ended. The secret opening beckoned ominously to them.

"Ladies first," said Dante, gesturing towards the ladder. Patty glared at him.

"You'd really send a poor defenceless girl into the unknown dark all alone?"

Vergil rubbed his head and scowled. "Defenceless. Yeah, right ..."

"Fine!" She rolled up her sleeves and grabbed the first metal rung. "I shall boldly go where no woman has gone before."

"Except our mom," Dante added. Patty groaned and started to climb. What a way to spend her birthday.

It was dark as she climbed, but it didn't take long to reach the top, and she soon hauled herself up onto solid ground. A few feet away she could just make out the outline of a door from the faint glow of light that showed around the edges. Taking a deep, calming breath, she tried the handle and it opened smoothly on well-oiled hinges. She wasn't sure what to expect. A huge horde of treasure and gold maybe. Or perhaps a deadly armoury of weapons and demonic armour.

What actually lay inside the secret room was ... a rather unimpressive storeroom. Junk lined the walls and covered several old tables and chairs. Dust covers obscured several piles, but from the shape she guessed that they concealed only more furniture. A few electric lamps hung from the walls and cast a soft yellow glow across the bare wooden floor.

There _was_ something strange, although it was so odd that Patty didn't know what to make of it. She first thought that her eyes were playing tricks on her, but it wasn't that. There was a door - a perfectly ordinary wooden door just like any other in the house, except that it stood in the middle of the room. Right in the middle. It wasn't leaning against anything and was straight and upright, as if someone had simply removed the wall it had been attached to and left it there. So overcome with curiosity was she that she crept towards it, mentally shutting out a vivid imagination that hinted at demons attacking from the shadows and dragging her screaming away.

"Okay," she said aloud to no one but herself, "Why is there a door here?" She walked all the way around it, and then very carefully prodded the frame with her finger. Since there was no wall to support it, it should have teetered over and collapsed onto the ground, but it firmly resisted. She pressed harder, and then actually pushed at it with both hands, digging her feet into the ground, stopped, moved around to the side and tried pushing it from there. Nothing. It didn't move even an inch.

"Now that's weird," she said, standing back and looking it up and down. Well, there was one thing left to try. She walked around to the front of it and knocked. Nothing happened except that her knuckles got a little sore. Fine then, she thought, and opened the door.

Several moments passed, the only sound being a gasp from Patty. She stood with wide eyes staring though the door, and then slammed it shut and took a step back. She walked around it again until she was standing in front of the door once more.

"Well ... it's a magic door. Accept it and move on."

She ran back to the top of the ladder and called for Dante and Vergil to come on up. Once they were, she led them both straight to the funny door, stood them in front of it and stood back.

"Open it," she said.

The twins looked at each other. Dante reached out and opened it. He left it open for a good ten seconds, shut it, and then walked all the way around it.

"Huh," he said. "That's funny."

"You don't say?" said Vergil. "I think we know where mom went now."

They opened the door again and this time left it wide open. Instead of looking through it and seeing the other side of the room however, the door opened out to a dusty desert path, bathed in bright sunlight. It was pitch black outside their house. Patty reached through and grabbed a handful of sand, which was hot to the touch. Pulling her arm back through the door, she held it out towards Vergil, who cupped his hands together and caught the sand as she let it fall.

"It's real," he said, passing it to Dante, "At least it feels like it."

Dante walked around again to the back of the door. Looking through, he saw the same desert path, this time from the other way around. He couldn't see Patty or Vergil at all. Sticking his arm through the doorway, he waved it about.

"Hey, can you see that?"

"See what?"

"My arm! I'm sticking it through the doorway now."

From the front, Patty and Vergil could see nothing but the same stretch of sunlit sand.

"We can't see it from this end," they called out to him. He joined them back around the front of the door and the three stared at it.

"It's magic," concluded Vergil.

"Nooo. Really?" said Dante.

"You had no idea your parents had a magic doorway in your house?" Patty asked. They shook their heads.

"Nope. Not a clue." Dante said.

"Mom and dad could be through that door," Vergil said. "I mean if he had this hidden away, then that's probably where he vanished to, and if mom found it she would have gone through to try and find him. Right?" He looked between the other two, as if asking them to confirm what he thought, what he was hoping.

"One easy way to find out," said Dante, and stepped through. Vergil hesitated only briefly before joining him. Patty watched them. Maybe it wasn't such a bad birthday after all, she thought, and stepped through after them.

* * *


	5. Chapter 5: Pandemonium

**DEVIL MAY CRY: BIRTHDAY BASH**

* * *

_Chapter 5: Pandemonium_

Eva leaned against the sandstone block, a bead of sweat trickling down the side of her face. She was being hunted. Not surprising, really, this was hardly the safest of places. The lost city of Pandemonium ... who would have guessed he had come here.

Rome wasn't built in a day, so the saying went. Pandemonium was built in an hour, by a single individual, and it outshined anything humanity had ever constructed themselves. But then, Mundus had been making a point. He was showing off his power - as if he needed to - to the poor frightened humans he had conquered two thousand years ago. This was the place he had ruled the world from. The seat of his empire on Earth.

She peered around the block and cast her gaze over the vast, desolate ruins; the tumbled stones, the shattered buildings and windswept streets. It had gone downhill since then, of course. Very little was left, at least on the surface. The whole thing had come crashing down when Sparda had decided enough was enough, and had fought the Emperor in a cataclysmic battle over the city, raising it to the ground. Since then it had fallen into myth and legend, lost to the world.

But Sparda was searching for something. What, she wasn't sure, but it had apparently been important enough for him to abandon his wife and children, and come here. The only way she could rationalize it was that he expected to encounter little or no trouble and return before any of them knew he was gone, but had finally come across something he couldn't handle. That was a scary thought, more so if she ran into the same trouble and found herself unable to return to the twins. Eva felt a pang of guilt at that. She should have stopped and taken the time to tell them, but she had been so excited at discovering the door in that hidden room, she had gone through before she knew what she was doing.

She clutched her gun, drawing what little comfort from the weapon as she could. It was a modified .44 automag, blessed by a divinity statue. Strong enough to down the lesser demons, but it wouldn't cut it if she encountered any of the higher class devils. She had better weapons ... back at the estate. She really should have taken time to prepare.

Eva pushed off from the block and made a run for the doorway of a large structure at the end of the street, expecting an attack at any second. She made it without incident, and found herself standing in the shade of the ruined building, a relief from the merciless sun beating down outside. A quick peek revealed an empty and dusty hallway within. In she went, and the instant she crossed the threshold she knew she'd made a mistake. A curse seal appeared over the doorway, blocking her retreat. Similar crimson barriers appeared at the other exits to the hallway, trapping her.

"All right then, you got me," she said to the room at large, "Show yourself."

Assault demons materialised, their reptilian bodies darting back and forth with lethal grace. Figured. Foot soldiers of the Emperor. They also had shields and armour to protect themselves from gunfire - very annoying.

The nearest one lunged at her, wicked long claws slicing through the air to rip her throat out. Eva leapt onto its back while it was in mid-leap, and then somersaulted through the air, twisting around and firing a salvo of shots into its vulnerable back. The powerful rounds tore it apart. She landed ... right in the middle of the pack. As they turned to attack however, she executed a series of back flips, leaving a grenade in her place for them. The blast shattered their armour and a swift follow up volley put the stunned demons down.

The room fell silent, save for the muted clatter of her shell casings hitting the floor. The demons were gone, yet the barriers remained. More was to come, and come it did in the form of a dozen Assaults, appearing from all sides, their shrieking cries punctuating the air.

"Oh hell," Eva muttered. As the demons locked onto her and tensed to pounce, she fumbled inside her jacket for something. They sailed through the air, attacking from all sides, leaving her no escape. Inches away from being mauled, Eva was saved by a bright flash of blue-white light that enveloped the room, disintegrating the horde of demons completely.

"Phew. Score one for the holy hand grenade," she said, stirring the shattered remains of her holy water sphere with the toe of her boot. Expensive little things, but well worth it if you were a lowly human.

Something fell to the ground beside her foot. It was a rose. She stared at it and frowned. Another landed next to it, and another. Glancing up, Eva was shocked to see that the air was thick with red roses, floating serenely down like a bizarre kind of snow. What the hell?

Someone was clapping. She spun around, pointing her automag at the dark figure standing atop a crumbling flight of stairs. It looked human, though she knew all to well that many demons could appear that way. This one was about her height, asexual, with short black hair and dark eyes, wearing what she considered to be a rather tasteless black leather outfit complete with gloves and a long overcoat.

"So glad I could amuse you," Eva said. The figure had stopped clapping and the roses had ceased falling. Now the entire floor was a carpet of the things, making it seem almost as if she were standing in a sea of blood. Not a pretty image.

"Looking for someone?" he said.

"Not you."

A pair of black-feathered wings appeared on his back, fanning out in a breathtaking fashion. That was the final piece; now Eva knew who this devil was.

"Lucifer," she said simply.

"Oh, you know me?"

"I've heard a tale or two."

"All bad, I hope."

She considered shooting him for a split second, but her sense of self-preservation overruled her. Sparda had told her about this particular devil - one of the upper echelons, very powerful and very notorious. Lucifer was possibly the most well known devil in the world; even humans oblivious to the threat of the demon world had heard of him. His wings folded behind his back and vanished, and he stepped off the edge of the stairs and floated down to the ground. The roses parted as if by a breeze as he landed.

"I know you, too," he said, the odd tones of his voice making the inside of her head itch. "Eva ... the human wife of Sparda. You're here to find him, aren't you?"

"Who, me? Nope, I'm just here as a tourist. See the sights, that sort of thing."

Lucifer flicked a hand, causing another rose to appear between his fingers. Twirling it back and forth, he continued to gaze at her. "I know he's missing. I've been looking for him myself. It has been so long since I have seen him, I thought we would catch up on old times ..."

Lucifer suddenly appeared right in front of her, his face an inch away from hers, her gun still pointing at where he had been an instant before. Eva was startled by the sudden shift.

"Since we have a common goal, perhaps we should work together?" He spoke softly, staring deeply into her eyes without blinking. Eva took a step back and half raised her gun.

"Hey creep, keep out of my personal space, kay?"

"Or what? You'll shoot me with that rose?"

Eva frowned and glanced at her gun. Except she wasn't holding it anymore; she was holding a red rose. She looked at Lucifer, who was now holding her gun in place of said rose. She tossed the rose away as he examined the weapon intently.

"Give that back," she snapped, annoyed at being toyed with.

"As you wish," he said, presenting the weapon to her with a flourish. Suspicious, she took it from him. Lucifer grabbed her hand and forced it up, so that the barrel of the weapon was pointing at his head. "Go ahead and shoot me, if you really need to. I should get it out of your system if I were you."

"Well if you insist," she said, and pulled the trigger. The high caliber round flattened against his forehead, making her flinch. The crushed bullet fell, and Lucifer caught it in a gloved hand and held it up for her to inspect.

"I believe this is yours," he said mockingly. Eva scowled and pulled her gun away.

"What do you want?"

"I told you," he said, letting it fall to the floor, "I'm here to find Sparda."

"What makes you think I know where he is?"

"Well I had no idea where he might be myself. I came to Pandemonium on a whim ... but here _you_ are, his loving wife ... well, I can only conclude that you came here because you actually had a clue as to his whereabouts, which led you here. A clue you will give to me."

Eva sneered at him and holstered her gun, folding her arms. "You think I'd tell you?"

Lucifer vanished. "Well, yes I do," he whispered into her ear, now standing behind her. Eva tried to ram her elbow into him, but it passed through empty air.

"Tsk, tsk," he said, standing several feet away from her now. That was an annoying trick he had.

"Sorry to disappoint, Lucy, but you can go to hell. I'm not helping you."

Lucifer looked crestfallen, which was unsettling. "Oh," he said, "That is a shame. Oh dear. Well then, I suppose I shall just have to convince you by torturing your sons until you talk."

Eva paled, a chill sweeping through her and overriding the intense desert heat that permeated the air. "You'll never find them."

Lucifer smiled a wicked smile at her. "I don't need to find them. They're on their way here as we speak. How very considerate of them."

"You're lying."

Lucifer was standing next to her again, this time gripping the shoulder of her jacket. His wings were present and unfurled again, and his dark eyes bored into her terrified face. "I don't need to lie when it's true. You can even see for yourself - let us watch as my demons tear their little bodies apart, piece by piece ..."

With that she was born aloft, pulled up through a hole in the roof and back into the hot sandswept outdoors.

* * *


	6. Chapter 6: A Mother's Gift

**DEVIL MAY CRY: BIRTHDAY BASH**

* * *

_Chapter 6: A Mother's Gift_

"What's that?" asked Patty. Dante started and glanced across at her. He had been clutching at something under his shirt.

"Huh?"

"Are you wearing a necklace or something?" she said.

"Ohh. No, it's ..." he reached into his shirt and removed a red pendant, "This."

"What is it?" She came close to get a better look. Dante pulled it over his head and passed it to her, a sure sign of trust considering how important it was to him. Patty took it and examined it delicately.

"It was a birthday present from my mom," he explained to her. "She gave an identical one to Virgil as well. Even had our names engraved on the backs."

Patty's finger brushed across Dante's name, engraved on the back of the pendant just as he said. It was very pretty. She hadn't seen Dante wearing it in her time. She wondered what must have happened to it.

"It's very nice," she said, handing it back. Dante put it around his neck and tucked it under his shirt again. "I have something like that myself; here, have a look," She removed the amulet she wore under her pink t-shirt and handed it to him. "My mom gave it to me as well. It's a magic amulet, called Allen's Tear, because it belonged to one of my ancestors. He was the greatest sorcerer who ever lived."

"Pretty," said Dante, "Just like you."

It took a moment for the words to register, and when they did Patty immediately blushed. It was already hot under the desert sun, but somehow she found herself feeling even warmer. Her cheeks burned as she stared at Dante. "Oh ... umm ... thanks," she said lamely, and mentally kicked herself. Dante held out the amulet for her, and as she clasped her hand around it, his fingers closer around her hand. Neither of them moved, unless you counted Patty's thumping heart.

"HEY! I FOUND SOMETHING!"

The two of them jumped apart as if burned. Vergil emerged from the end of the path that wound around a large sand dune. Patty hung her amulet around her neck again as Vergil ran up to them, leaned on his knees and sucked in a few searing lungfuls of air. He nevertheless recovered very quickly.

"Yeah, I found something up ahead, really cool ..." he stopped and looked between Dante and Patty, who were silent. "Uh ... why are you both looking so guilty?"

"What are you talking about?" Dante asked, looking even guiltier at being told so. Vergil stared at his brother for a long moment, and then shrugged.

"Okay, I get it. I'll just make sure not to leave the two of you alone anymore, how's that?"

"Nothing happened!" Patty insisted, although a small part of her was wishing that something had. Inside her head, she stared at that part until it had the decency to look embarrassed. Still, she had to admit that Dante was a lot nicer as a kid than as a grownup. Shame he couldn't stay that way.

Rather than wait for Vergil's sarcastic reply, Patty held her head high and marched past him, walking up the path without so much as a glance back. Behind her Vergil smirked at Dante, who scowled and gave him a playful punch in the shoulder. Patty reached the end of the path, huffing and puffing from the heat and the slight uphill climb, paused to wish for water (which sadly failed to appear, thank-you magic), and then peered at Vergil's great discovery.

"Huh. Wow."

Shielding her eyes with the flat of her hand, she looked across a short patch of sand towards the vast statues marking the entrance to Pandemonium. The ancient ruined city stretched out before her, like something you'd expect from an Indiana Jones film. Huge pillars, crumbling buildings, sand-covered roads ... it went on as far as she could see, although some sections of the city were obscured by dense clouds of sand.

"Pretty neat," said Dante, appearing at her shoulder. They exchanged glances and immediately looked away from each other. Vergil shouldered his way between them and smiled.

"A regular lost city," he said, "A demon city at that."

"How do you know that?" Patty asked. Vergil pointed at one of the statues.

"Recognise it?"

She looked, and saw what he meant at once. Mundus. Although badly damaged, the massive statues at the entrance to the city were of the same figure in the painting back in Sparda's study, that of the Devil Emperor himself.

"Geez, that guy was really full of himself," Patty observed.

"Well I don't know about our dad," said Dante, "He's been missing for months now. But I'd be willing to bet our mom is here somewhere. So, uh ... how the heck are we supposed to find her? It's gonna be like looking for sand in a sandbox."

"I think you mean a particular grain of sand in a sandbox," said Patty with a slight smile, "Otherwise just finding any sand would be quite easy."

Dante was quiet. "She's got you there, bro," said Vergil. Dante gave him an irrate look.

"Fine. Stand there and pick fault. Or, you know, make yourselves useful and think of something."

Patty chuckled. She changed this into a fake cough, and cleared her throat. "Ahem. Well, it's a big empty city. We could walk around and shout loudly; our voices are bound to echo a bit and she might hear us."

"Yeah, but so will any demons out there," said Vergil. "There are some demons that track entirely by sound."

"Man, I wish I had my sword," muttered Dante, staring out at the city. Vergil nodded.

"Me too. Pity dad locked them away."

"Huh," Patty puffed out her chest and put her hands on her hips in what she must have thought was a defiant stance. "Demons don't scare me. If we come across any, just leave them to me!"

Dante and Vergil shared a worried look. When Patty marched off towards the city, they had no choice but to follow. They caught up to her in the middle of what must have been a square. A water fountain stood, dry and lifeless as everything about them. The three of them were seriously regretting not packing something to drink on their little adventure.

"HELLO! IS ANYONE THERE!? HELLO!!" Patty shouted, with her hands cupped around her mouth. Her voice echoed through the dead city. If anyone heard, they didn't answer.

"Guess no one's home," she said in a more normal tone, staring up at the tall buildings. "Better try somewhere else." She lowered her gaze and looked to the twins, who were backing towards her.

"Hey, Skuld?" said Dante.

"What is it?"

He pointed towards the entrance of the square. "You're up," he said. She looked in that direction and her heart skipped a beat. Demons. Quite a lot of them. She swallowed with a dry throat and spun around, but all the other ways out of the square were blocked off by demons as well. She'd seen demons before, but usually when adult Dante was around to protect her from them, something he always did well. Now, Dante was unarmed and younger than she was.

Now it was her turn.

"Oh boy," she said.

* * *


	7. Chapter 7: Heads or Tails

**DEVIL MAY CRY: BIRTHDAY BASH**

Sorry for the delay. To make up for it here is an extra long chapter, I hope you enjoy. Only a few more chapters to go before the end of this fic. Thanks to everyone who follows this and reviews.

* * *

_Chapter 7: Heads or Tails_

"Up on the fountain!" Patty instructed, clambering up the dusty stone structure as swiftly as she could manage. Dante and Vergil didn't bother arguing. When Patty was at the top tier, she knelt and looked about at the amassed demons.

Amassed was right; there had to be thirty or forty of the things, all dripping saliva and glowing eyes. The mixture of howling, growling and snarling did little to calm her already overtaxed nerves, and it was all Patty could do not to break down and cry out.

_I've got to deal with this_, she thought, _otherwise Dante will die, and he can't die because he isn't dead in my time_. Did time travel work that way? She didn't have a clue. That was more of a sci-fi question, and she had stopped watching sci-fi after Dante had got her to watch Alien one late night.

"I hope you know what you're doing," said Dante, nervously eyeing the advance of the demons.

"Haven't the faintest idea," Patty whimpered.

Just then there was a faint blue glow under her t-shirt. Would that work? There was only one way to find out. She withdrew her pendant and held it aloft, casting the soft light across the ancient square. The effect was immediate, the demons shielding their eyes and halting their advance on the three children. Patty's heart beat faster. It was working!

"Sweet!" said Dante.

It wasn't enough though. The demons had stopped, but they weren't leaving. Now was the time to see if she really did have any magic of her own. Focusing on the pendant that dangled before her, Patty concentrated as much as she could, willing the light to grow brighter.

Nothing happened.

"Ohh," she muttered in frustration. Doubt crept into her mind for a moment, until she remembered earlier ... the incident with the vase. Vergil had made her angry, and she had felt that strange sensation inside her head, something she'd never felt before.

The light grew brighter a notch and her heart skipped a beat. That was it! She concentrated on remembering that sensation, on the way she had felt. Doing so made her feel it again, and then it all seemed so easy. She cranked the volume right up, and the pendant became blindingly bright. Below her, Dante and Vergil threw their arms over their eyes and cried out in surprise.

The pendant suddenly winked out, leaving bright afterimages in her vision. She lowered the amulet and blinked a few times until her eyes returned to normal. The demons were all gone.

"I can't believe that actually worked," she breathed, "I can't believe _I_ actually did that."

"Yeah, well you don't hear us complaining," remarked Dante. Beside him his brother hopped off the fountain and stared about at the empty square.

"How ... how did you do that?" he asked, breathless and awed.

"Magic!" she said simply, clambering down off the dry fountain and doing her best to hide her own shock. She felt a tingling all through her body, though that was not so much from the magic as it was from the excitement. She could do magic! How many kids wished they could actually do that? "See - I told you to leave the demons to me!" she beamed. Patty couldn't wait to show off when she got back. Maybe she could even talk Lady into taking her demon hunting with her and earn some money helping out.

"The girl's pretty handy to have around, huh Vergil?" said Dante, dropping off the fountain and joining his brother, leaning an arm on his shoulder.

"You can say that again," he murmured, staring at the pendant around Patty's neck. She noticed and mistook what he was staring at.

"Hey! What're you looking at?" she demanded hotly. Vergil blinked and looked up at her face, which was scowling at him.

"What? Oh, I was looking at your pendant. Why, what did you think I was looking at?"

"She thought you were staring at her chest," Dante whispered in his ear, while Patty fumed. Vergil looked puzzled.

"What chest?" he said, a little too loudly. Patty heard and promptly stormed off in order to avoid burying Vergil under a pile of rubble.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked, pointing at her retreating back. Dante stopped leaning on him and stared.

"How is it that we're twins and you _don't_ know?"

* * *

Lucifer was annoyed, Eva could tell. She smiled.

"Who is that girl?" he demanded, pointing at the small pink figure in the distance. Eva shrugged and held a hand up to her face to shield it from the glare of the sun.

"Not a clue. Maybe one of my boys got themselves a girlfriend. I like her," she said. Considering the girl had saved her sons lives, what was not to like? Lucifer glared at her.

"It takes some serious power to destroy that many demons with such ease. I think I should take a better look at this child ..." he turned to Eva and wagged a gloved finger in her direction, "Stay."

Eva watched him take off, waited a few seconds and then took a running jump off the roof, landing on the next building with a roll. She had to get to them ...

* * *

Patty stopped in the middle of the street she found herself in, her face bright red. Boys! What did they expect? She was only thirteen. And Dante had said she was pretty. She crossed her arms and stared at a stone on the ground a few feet away, willing it to explode. It vibrated, but that was all. Huffing again, she wheeled around and looked up at the clear sky, just in time to see a black blur bear down on her. Patty didn't even have time to gasp. Before she knew what was happening, a tall dark figure with black wings was carrying her up into the air. She watched the street shrink below her and swallowed.

"Hello," spoke the stranger, his voice eerie. Patty looked at him.

"Umm ... who are you? And would you mind putting me down?"

"If you like," he said, and let go of her. Patty screamed as the ground rushed back to meet her, and stopped as the air was knocked from her lungs, the winged stranger catching her again. She caught her breath back and then resisted the urge to punch him, since antagonizing the only thing between you and a sudden severe drop was not a smart move.

"D-don't ... do that ... again ... !" she said. The man (although that was a guess, it was hard to tell - he definitely wasn't human though) leaned his face close to hers. His eyes were black and his breath smelled like ... roses? So strange.

"My name is Lucifer, and I am an angel," he said. Patty found that hard to believe; this creep had evil emanating from him like smoke, but she _had_ heard the name Lucifer before, and he was supposed to have been an angel wasn't he? Patty didn't think they existed though. Just demons.

"What do you want with me?" she asked, trying not to think of all the empty air beneath her. Somehow she didn't think her newfound magical talents would stretch to growing her a pair of wings in a very short space of time.

"Why, I'm interested in you. I saw what you did just now ... defeating all those demons, very impressive."

"It was nothing," she murmured, looking away. Unfortunately the only other thing to look at made her stomach churn. She wasn't so good with heights. Lucifer gripped her chin with his thumb and finger and turned her face back to his, before leaning in closer and kissing her.

Patty went numb with shock. He was kissing her! Why was he kissing her? Ick, she was being kissed! Actually, it wasn't all that bad. Kind of dreamy ... Eww! What was she thinking?

When he stopped, Patty immediately whipped her arm up and wiped her mouth. Then she slapped Lucifer.

"Yuck! What the heck did you do that for? That was gross!"

"Not for me," Lucifer replied, smiling, "and it told me something interesting about you ... you're a descendant of Allen Lowell. His power flows through your veins. And that-" he pointed at the pendant hanging around her neck, "is a shard of Allen's Tear. It's no wonder you were able to destroy those demons. When you grow up you're going to be quite the little firecracker ..."

Patty wriggled in his grasp, all thought of the drop below her gone. "Let go of me you pervert!" she kicked and scratched at him, which had exactly zero effect on him.

Lucifer sighed. "As you wish," he said, and let her go for the second time. Patty didn't have time to scream or even think - she landed on the roof he had flown them over and stumbled forwards. Lucifer landed lightly a few feet away, folding his wings behind his back. He leaned forwards and helped her to her feet. Patty shook him off and staggered back.

"I can't believe I kissed a demon," she hissed, "My first kiss ... ugh ... you _are _a demon, aren't you?"

Lucifer presented a red rose with a flourish and offered it to her. "Demon, angel ... take your pick."

Patty snatched the rose from him, dropped it onto the roof and then stood on it, crushing the flower. She then crossed her arms and glared at him. Lucifer knelt, staring into her eyes with his own, unblinking, making her uncomfortable.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Sparda," she said mockingly, "I'm the Legendary Dark Knight. Can't you tell?"

"You shouldn't be so hostile towards me, after all I haven't hurt you. I could. I could hurt you a great deal ... do terrible things to you."

"Yeah, like kiss me again! Jeez, you're such a creep."

"You should join me. I could teach you so much ... about your magic. About yourself. With your help I could even prevent Mundus rising to power again. That's why I'm here, causing trouble you know; I have orders from Mundus to find and kill Sparda. The Emperor wants revenge, but he is still too weak to get it himself," Lucifer held out a hand towards her. "Come with me, and I promise to leave here, let your friends be without harming a hair on their heads. I'll let them reunite with their mother and never trouble them again. All you have to do is take my hand ..."

Patty stared at his hand for a long moment, as if thinking about it. Then she spat on it and resumed glaring at him. Spitting was not a very lady-like thing to do, but in this case she was prepared to make an exception.

Lucifer sighed again. "That is a shame," He stood and flicked his other hand at her. Patty suddenly felt herself picked up and hurled backwards. She sailed off the edge of the roof, gasping in shock, and would have been seriously hurt by the landing had it not been broken by someone. Dante and Vergil lay underneath her, stunned by the impact of being hit by a falling Patty.

"I found her," said Dante.

The trio untangled themselves and got slowly to their feet. Patty immediately looked up at the roof she had been knocked from and the twins followed her gaze. Lucifer stood, outlined by the sunlight, looking down on them.

"Who's that?" asked Vergil.

"You don't want to know," said Patty.

Dozens of glowing red energy blades materialised around him, and then shifted so that they were hanging over their heads. With an idle gesture the fallen angel sent the blades shooting downwards with frightening speed. They threw their hands up and flinched, as if that would do any good. The blades however missed them and buried themselves in the ground instead.

"What the ..." Dante glanced about, puzzled. His confusion changed to surprise when the buried blades exploded, buckling the ground beneath their feet. The street gave way completely, and so did the nearest facing of the building, sending the three plummeting into an abyss.

* * *

Patty came to. From the feel of her body's internal clock she hadn't been out long. From the feel of her head she now had a nasty lump that stung like crazy.

"Oww," she said, with feeling. Then she coughed, sand and ancient dust clogging her throat and lungs. She got around onto her hands and knees and coughed until she could breath somewhat, winced at the lump on her head and then tried to see where she was.

"Uhh ... Skuld? Are you there?"

That was ... well, either Dante or Vergil. While she could tell them apart from the colour of their shirts, their voices sounded the same. She blinked several times and made an effort to rub her eyes clear.

"I ... I'm here!" she called out, though her chest hurt to do so. Come to think of it, she was hurting all over, she just hadn't noticed at first because some bits hurt more than others. Shaking her head clear, the sharp pain it gave her helped to bring her to her senses. She managed to look around at last and see what was going on.

Well, the ground had given way, that much she remembered. Just. They had fallen, and judging by the faint shaft of light above, they had fallen quite a distance. They were in some kind of cavernous catacomb, and Patty herself was on some kind of stone walkway. How the heck she had survived without breaking anything was a mystery. She looked around some more and vertigo kicked in again; the walkway was narrow, partially broken, and there was a drop below her so deep that she couldn't even see the bottom. She swallowed.

"Dante? Vergil? Where are you, I can't see you," she spoke as loudly as she could manage.

"Oh, we're just hanging around," one of them said, the voice sounding distant, the words echoing. Patty peered over the walkway, fighting vertigo as her questing gaze finally located the twins. Dante was hanging over the blackness, holding onto some kind of ancient demon metal that protruded from a shattered walkway. He tried to pull himself up but it looked like the metal was cutting into his hands, and it was taking all the strength he had not to let go.

Looking across, Vergil was in a similar predicament, the strain of holding on evident on his face. He was quite a distance away from Dante, but they were both about equal distances from Patty. As she tried to look for a way to get down to them, sand and small rocks rained down on them from the jagged hole above. One slightly larger stone smashed into the walkway Patty was on, about a dozen feet away, knocking a huge chunk out of it. She swallowed, her heart thumping faster. This was bad.

"I ... I can't get up," Vergil said through clenched teeth. On the other side of the chamber, Dante's grip slipped a little.

"Yeah, so ... if you wouldn't mind ... lending a hand," he murmured.

She glanced back and forth between the twins, flinching slightly when some sand rained on her head. She had to help them, but ... which one should she go for first? She could see a way to get to either one of them, but she had to choose who to help first. Whoever she didn't go to would have to hold on before she and the one she helped could get over to them. That might be too long.

So who? Dante first, or Vergil?

She bit her lip and then got up, carefully making her way across to Dante. "Hold on! I'll be right there!"

"Take your time lady, I'm ... not going anywhere," said Dante. Across the chamber, Vergil watched the girl make her way over to his brother, and had a sudden sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that was only partly caused by the sucking void beneath him.

Even though she had a close call with another falling rock, Patty made it to Dante and gave him a hand up. His grip was slippery with blood and she almost lost him, but she held on for dear life and refused to let go, even when she had pulled him up onto horizontal ground.

"Thanks," he said breathlessly. "Verge ..." He spun and looked across at his twin, who was slipping further. "Hey Vergil, hang on! We're coming!"

Vergil said nothing; he simply looked across the empty expanse and into his brother's eyes, his expression grim. Then a piece of falling debris hit a walkway above him, dislodging a massive chunk, which fell straight onto Vergil and his handhold. The whole thing turned into a cloud of thick dust and plummeted straight down, vanishing into the depths of the darkness far below.

Patty and Dante were stunned. Dante called out to his brother and would have stepped right off the ledge and followed Vergil down had Patty not had the foresight to grab his shirt and yank him back.

"Let me go, I have to go get him!" he yelled at her, trying to pry her hands off. Patty struggled to hold onto him.

"Dante, no! He's gone, you can't go after him! He's gone Dante, he's gone!"

"No! He might be alive. He is alive, I know it! I'd know if he were dead!"

Patty shook her head, tears streaming down her dirty face, leaving dark streaks. "It's no use, he couldn't have-"

"He could, we've ... we've survived falls before. Falls don't hurt us, remember? Remember how I told you? When I fell off the roof?" Tears were filling up his eyes now, making them red and puffy. Fighting back choking sobs, Patty continued to hold onto him regardless.

"And that big slab of rock? Vergil got floored by a vase, Dante. I can't ... I can't see how he could survive that ... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I should have ..." she trailed off. Dante fell to his knees and scampered around, peering down at the vast pitfall.

"VERGIL! VERGIL, ANSWER ME! Vergil! Are you there Vergil? Verge?"

He leaned over the ledge, staring intently into the abyss. It did not stare back. It did not answer him. There was only endless empty silence, broken by the occasional scratching of falling sand and dirt. Dante closed his eyes and hung his head, his tears dripping off his face and down into the pit. Somewhere above them another piece of rubble smashed into stone, causing Patty to look up in alarm. She reached towards Dante and put a gentle hand on his back.

"Dante ... please, we have to get out of here, it's dangerous."

"What about my brother?" he asked, coughing and choking back tears.

"There's nothing we can do. I ... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Dante," she spluttered. Her face _hurt_. It was numb and yet so painful, like needles stabbing into the bones. Her heart felt like it had twisted itself up into a horrible knot. It was so hard to breath, and she was scared. This must have been why Vergil wasn't around in her time. She'd just seen Dante lose his brother ... his own twin. And it was her _fault_. Oh god it hurt.

"Come on Dante, please," she tugged at his arm. He didn't get up, didn't move.

"Leave me," he said.

"But Dante-"

"I don't care. I really don't. I'm not going anywhere without Vergil."

"DANTE!"

Patty started, and Dante actually looked up. Someone had called down to them from the hole in the street above where they had fallen.

"DANTE!" the voice called again, the voice of a woman. Dante stood and looked up at the shaft of light high above, Patty following his gaze.

"... Mom?" he said. Patty peered at the figure.

"Trish?"


	8. Chapter 8: The Getaway

**DEVIL MAY CRY: BIRTHDAY BASH**

* * *

_Chapter 8: The Getaway_

Dante sobbed in his mother's arms, his tears soaking into the crimson sleeves of her jacket. Patty meanwhile was busy being extremely shocked.

Trish! Dante's mother was ... Trish? Wait, that just made no sense whatsoever. More than that, Trish - from her time in the present - wasn't a day older than this woman here. How was that possible? Actually, considering that she had jumped over twenty years backwards in time to get here, just by making a wish, it wasn't so unbelievable. It was still surprising though. It also meant that the picture Dante had framed in his office must be of his mother, and not of Trish as she had believed.

"You're Dante's mother? Eva?" said Patty.

Eva let go of her son, who drew his arm across his face to wipe away the tears. The cuts on his hands had already healed, though the palms were caked with dried blood.

"That's right. I saw what happened from up there, I ..." Her face tightened for a moment before she continued, "I want to thank you for saving my son. I'm just sorry I wasn't able to get here in time to do something myself."

"Vergil's gone," said Dante. He looked as numb as Patty felt. She couldn't imagine what it must be like to lose a twin.

"I know Dante, it couldn't be helped," Eva said, yet Patty still felt terribly ashamed. Maybe there was something she could have - _should_ have done, that she simply hadn't thought of. How could she have the power to banish a horde of demons and cross time itself, yet not be able to save a boy from falling down a pit?

Eva glanced up as more sand rained down on them from the hole in the street. "We can't stay here. If we do, none of us will be getting out of here alive."

"Yeah, that creep Lucifer will be after us again," Patty muttered, suppressing the urge to shudder. She tried not to think about the fact that Vergil might still be alive if she had taken Lucifer's hand when he offered it. Was he telling her the truth about letting them live? She'd never know now.

"Come on, follow me and stick close," Eva said, drawing her .44 automag and taking the lead. Patty and Dante silently fell in behind her as she led them across the precarious walkways, towards a tunnel. Leaving the cavernous chamber behind them, they delved deeper into the catacombs. Veins of luminite in the rock gave them enough light to see, aided further by the glow from Patty's pendant.

"What are we going to do now?" Dante asked, his voice pained.

"The door," said Eva, "We have to get back to it, it's the only way out of the city short of walking across miles of open desert."

For ten long minutes the trio trudged through empty tunnels, ignoring the occasional and horrific carvings on the walls. At long last they sighted daylight, filtering down from a long, spiralling staircase at the end of the passage, and as one they picked up the pace and sprinted for it. To their immense relief they emerged at the edge of the city, Patty catching a glimpse of the ancient crumbling statues of Mundus that marked the entrance to Pandemonium.

"Stay sharp, we're not out of the woods yet," said Eva, before setting off.

"We're not even _in_ the woods," muttered Dante, making a feeble attempt at humour. His heart wasn't in it though. Part of him was still convinced that Vergil wasn't really gone. Wishful thinking, he guessed.

They left the city without incident and quickly found the path that led to the magical doorway. Thankfully it was still there, still open, the inviting gloom of the Sparda home visible beyond the faded wooden frame. Eva was through first, checking the room with her gun drawn for any sign of lurking intruders. She seemed satisfied, and stood in the doorway beckoning for the two of them to hurry.

Shoulders drooping, Dante crossed the threshold and sank to his knees onto the floorboards. Patty was bringing up the rear, having shorter legs than Eva and not being able to cope with the heat as well as Dante. Puffing from exertion, every step feeling like she was carrying a huge weight, she made for the door with only her determination to keep her going.

"Finally, safe at last," she said as she closed to within a few feet of the door. She tried to take the final step when she felt a sharp pain in her scalp and her head jerked back abruptly. The reason for this was that Lucifer had grabbed her ponytail and pulled on it. He continued to pull so that she was forced to twist her head back and look upwards at the sky, which was soon obscured by his own smiling face.

"Hello again little girl. I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name before, what was it?"

"Me and my big mouth," Patty murmured.

Eva fired a salvo of shots through the doorway, but the bullets bounced harmlessly off the devil without making him flinch. He gave her a scathing look. Dante was standing by his mother's side, his eyes wide, not sure what to do.

"Why don't the two of you step back over here?" said Lucifer, gesturing to them with his free hand, "Before I decide to twist the little witches head off."

Lucifer had eased off a little, and Patty was able to see Eva and Dante again. She couldn't bear the thought of another of them dying because of her stupid wish. "Don't listen to him!" she shouted, "Close the door and forget about me!"

"Yes!" Lucifer exclaimed suddenly. He wrapped a gloved hand around her throat and lowered his head so that it was next to hers. "Do exactly as she says. Close the door. Forget all about her, she will be fine with me ..."

Eva went pale. Dante however darted past her and through the doorway, grabbing Patty and trying to pull her away from Lucifer.

"Dante, no!" Eva cried out, too late.

"My, how gallant," Lucifer observed, watching Dante struggle to pry Patty from his clutches. He might as well have tried to shift a mountain for all the effect it had. Lucifer glanced back up at the doorway and frowned. Eva was gone.

"Dante, stop you idiot!" Patty scolded. Dante ceased trying to prise her from Lucifer's grasp, but he continued to hold onto her arm. Their eyes met and it was all Patty could do not to start crying again.

"I already lost my brother," he said in a quietly determined voice, "I won't lose you. I won't."

"I should never have come here," said Patty, shaking her head, "It's all my fault this is happening. If I hadn't made that stupid wish then you'd still be playing hide and seek with Vergil. Dante ... I'm sorry."

"How very touching," said Lucifer, somewhat annoyed, "But it may surprise you to know that the boy's mother has decided to leave the two of you to die."

Patty and Dante started at his words. Together they looked to the open doorway, and were shocked to see that Eva was nowhere to be found.

"She ... she wouldn't ..." said Dante in disbelief. Patty had a sudden and very strong hunch, and suppressed the urge to smile, so sure was she of what was about to happen next. Call it female intuition, or her new magic talents, it didn't matter.

"Dante?"

"Huh?"

"Get down."

Eva reappeared, suddenly stepping back in front of the open doorway. Lucifer was so surprised by her return that his grip on Patty lessened just enough for her to slip free and drop to the hot desert ground alongside Dante.

"Eat this you bastard," said Eva, and fired the rocket launcher she was hefting. The missile shot through the doorway, hit Lucifer square in the chest and carried him up and backwards through the air, the safety fusing of the warhead preventing it from detonating so soon after being fired. It carried him over a dozen feet away before the shaped anti-armour charge detonated with an ear-splitting crack.

"Jackpot," said Eva, with satisfaction.

Dante and Patty were through the doorway before their hearing had even returned, and an instant later Eva slammed it shut and turned the latch, causing the door to vanish from the desert completely.


	9. Chapter 9: Consequences

**DEVIL MAY CRY: BIRTHDAY BASH**

Don't know if I'll be able to finish this, as I might not be able to keep my net connection for much longer, but as long as I'm online I'll keep at it. I don't like leaving this unfinished. I think I'll make the next chapter the last one, and finish this fic off at a nice round ten. Thanks again to those following this, and I hope you enjoy.

* * *

_Chapter 9: Consequences_

Hours had passed since their escape from Pandemonium. Eva had checked Patty and Dante for wounds when they returned; Dante was of course fine ... physically speaking. His mother did her best to comfort him, but she was just as torn up about the loss of Vergil, and could do little to put his mind at ease. She patched up several minor cuts and bruises on Patty, the young girl not meeting her gaze. She still felt guilty.

They had all washed and cleaned up, scrubbing away every last trace of infernal sand. Patty and Dante now sat in one of the main rooms, staring blankly at some late-night TV whilst enjoying the chill in the air. Eva was in the hidden attic room, carefully (and slowly) dismantling the doorway.

Patty had spent the past few hours silently wishing for things to be different, to no avail. It seemed that one wish was all she was getting. She was drained, in every sense of the word. It was like some twisted cliché - she had finally become someone special, inheriting magical powers from her ancestor, and it had turned out to be a curse rather than a blessing. It was like one of those annoying moral tales they had in stories, meant to teach some kind of lesson. 'Be careful what you wish for', maybe. It hardly seemed fair.

She got out of the chair she was snuggled into and stiffly crossed the room to where Dante sat, staring at the old television without really seeing it. She stood in front of him in order to get his attention, waiting until he slowly looked up at her face before speaking.

"Dante," she began, her throat sore, "I ... I know this doesn't really make up for it, but I wanted to say how sorry I am for everything that happened."

Dante frowned. "Sorry? Why? It wasn't really your fault."

"It was! If I hadn't have come here then you and your brother would never have gone after your mother. Vergil would still be alive. It was only because of me being nosy ..."

He looked at the ground and shook his head. "That's not true. We probably would have gone even if you hadn't shown up. Besides, for all we know we saved my mother's life."

Patty's vision started to blur at the edges, and she fought not to let any more tears come. She was weary of crying. It was such a horrible, useless feeling. "That's ... that's not everything though," she said quietly, "There's something else. When Lucifer grabbed me, he ..."

"What?"

Patty bunched her hands up tight, struggling to make herself tell him, loathe though she was to say it. "He said that he would have let you go. All of you. You, your brother, your mother. He would leave you all alone and let you be on your way, safe and sound."

Dante listened and thought about her words. Upset he might be, but he wasn't stupid. His expression darkened, though Patty was unsure exactly why. She wished for a moment she could read his mind ... another unfulfilled wish. "In exchange for what?" Dante asked. She swallowed.

"Me. He wanted me. He said he'd leave you all alone and be on his way if I agreed to go with him. He ..." Patty winced at the memory, squirming at the guilt that gnawed at her insides. "He kissed me, and was able to tell who I was somehow. He knew I was a descendant of a powerful sorcerer, and he knew about my amulet. I think he was telling the truth. I think I was important enough to him for him to honour his deal. I could have said yes. If I had ..." She couldn't hold them in any more, the tears flowing freely down her face. "If I had said yes, Vergil would still be alive now, and you wouldn't have to worry about him coming after you someday. It's all my fault, I told you!"

Dante stared at her, his mouth hanging open as she cried her eyes out. The next thing Patty knew, Dante was holding her, hugging her tightly. She was so surprised that she coughed and blinked several times. She had expected him to be angry, to shout at her maybe, or just look away and fall silent.

"Don't think that. It wasn't your fault. Lucifer was the one that attacked us. That demon threatened us. He's to blame."

"Dante-"

Dante stopped hugging her and looked her in the eye, his expression so sincere and earnest that Patty welled up inside with feeling just looking at him. "Listen," he said, "I know ... _knew_ Vergil. He wouldn't have wanted you to give yourself up to a creep like that, even for his sake." And then he reached up and wiped the tears from her face. Patty hiccupped. She couldn't believe that this kind, tender boy was ... well, Dante. The Dante she knew just wasn't like this at all. Why had he changed? Was it because he grew up? If that was what growing up did to you, Patty never wanted it to happen to her.

"I ... I just don't think I was worth your brothers life," Patty said, looking down, "I still think things would be better off if I had taken Lucifer's deal."

"What's done is done. You cant go back and change what happened, so it's no use beating yourself up over it," Patty looked back up at him and saw him smiling faintly, "For what it's worth, if it'd been me ... I'd have done the same."

She smiled despite herself. "Since when did you become so wise?"

Dante seemed surprised. "Wise? I think you have me confused with somebody else."

They both fell silent, standing there with Dante holding Patty, the two looking into each others eyes. Then at the same time they each leaned forwards and kissed.

* * *

Vergil awoke.

The first thing he did was scream, a piercing shrieking sound that echoed back at him from the darkness, the remnants of memory coming back to assault him once more.

"It's just as I told you ..." said a voice, an eerie voice that made the inside of ones head uncomfortable.

Vergil opened his eyes and looked upon the face of his jailer, this time with fear and dreaded anticipation of renewed pain, instead of fiery eyed defiance. He struggled feebly at the shackles holding him to the wall, but it was no use. He was trapped. Alone.

"Sooner or later you will tell me what I wish to know," said Lucifer, pacing back and forth before Vergil. "I will hurt you. Torture you. Mutilate, molest and abuse you. You shall die in screaming agony ... and then ..." He held aloft a small golden sphere and presented it for the boy to see, "Then I shall bring you back to life to do it all over again. As many times as I need before you break. And believe me, child, I have broken far stronger than you."

The orb vanished and Lucifer thrust his face close to Vergil's. "You can save yourself all that pain and anguish. Just tell me where you live. Where can I find your brother? Your mother? And that girl ..."

A small part of Vergil wanted to snap a witty comeback, but his mind was simply too shocked at the pain that had been inflicted on it. Lucifer had torn him apart, ripped him open and hacked at him until not even his Sparda blood could keep him alive. It was simply too much to bear; yet when the release of death had come his reprieve had been short lived. Here he was again, and the memory of the agony stole away any smart remarks he cared to consider. He sobbed.

"What's this now?" said Lucifer in evident amusement, "Tears from a devil child?" He leaned forwards and ran his tongue across Vergil's face, licking the tears from his cheeks. When he was done he whispered into Vergil's ear; "If you think cutting your flesh is the worst I can do, think again child - I'm just getting warmed up, and I plan on taking special care of the son of the hated Sparda. And when I'm finally done ... some years from now of course, perhaps Mundus will decide to take a turn at you. Doesn't that give you something nice to look forwards to?"

All Vergil could manage was a whimper. Lucifer smiled and stepped back. After a few moments he glanced sideways at him. "You know, I can't help but notice that your brother is not here by your side ... strange really, I had thought that twins, especially ones so close, would never be apart."

Vergil winced, and Lucifer noticed.

"You must have realised, dear Vergil, that he abandoned you? When I found you, you were still alive. Barely, I'll grant you, but I would have thought that your brother, your own _twin_, would surely have come looking for you. If it had been me, I would not be satisfied until I had seen with my own eyes, and even then I would have taken the body with me. I certainly wouldn't have left my own brother to rot in a desert somewhere, prey to any sadistic demons such as myself ... still, what do I know of it? Perhaps he had a reason for leaving you behind." Lucifer leaned on his knees and looked solemnly at Vergil, "Perhaps he had simply had enough of you. Maybe he liked the company of that girl better. And as for your mother ... well I can only guess that she had her favourite son, and that was reason enough to leave you behind."

Vergil glared, but said nothing.

"Now then," Lucifer stood upright and took a few steps away, "Let us continue where we left off ..." He clapped his gloved hands together, causing a swarm of glowing red energy blades to materialise in the air about him, their points aimed at the half-breed chained to the wall.

"Wait," said Vergil, the word barely above a whisper. Lucifer blinked, surprised.

"Yes?"

The demon had to wait almost half a minute before Vergil finally got the strength to say what he wanted to say, yet wait he did.

"If you teach me ... how to do that ... I will tell you what you want to know."

Lucifer stared at the boy. And then smiled.


	10. Chapter 10: Confessions

**DEVIL MAY CRY: BIRTHDAY BASH**

Okay, so I said I would do one more chapter and that would be it. Well I wrote one more chapter, but it was really big. So, I've decided to split it up into smaller bite size chunks for easier reading. Since this story involves Patty's 13th birthday, I've gone with 13 chapters for this.

* * *

_Chapter 10: Confessions_

Dante and Patty sat side by side, leaning their heads together as they stared at the flickering images on the television screen. Patty felt a warm rosy glow inside of her, the memory of the kiss playing back repeatedly in her mind.

She still couldn't believe it ... she had kissed Dante. _Dante_. Of all people. There was something a little bit ... squicky about that. After all, back in her own time Dante was old enough to be her father, and when he had taken care of her before her mother returned she had looked up to him as a sort of big brother. But this Dante was practically the same age as her, and a whole lot nicer. At any rate it was a definite improvement from kissing Lucifer, though that wasn't saying much. She was just glad she wasn't in _his_ clutches.

As her thoughts wandered, she glanced about at the walls and noticed a soft yellow glow on one of them. "Is it morning already?"

Dante frowned and looked up at the clock on the mantelpiece. "No, not for a few hours yet. Why?"

Patty got up and stared at one of the windows that didn't have the curtains drawn. It was still night outside, but something was casting a light through that window onto the opposite wall. Feeling deeply uneasy, she advanced to the window and peered out. What she saw shocked her so much that she froze to the spot and went visibly white.

"Um, Dante?"

"Yes?"

"The town is on fire."

"What?"

She pointed out of the window, her eyes still wide. "Demons are attacking the town, and everything is on fire."

He appeared at her side and followed her gaze. It wasn't hard to miss. The town that the Sparda estate resided in was ablaze, thanks largely to an enormous four legged, winged devil wreathed in flames. It also carried a large sword in one of its hands, which it used to smash buildings to rubble. Dozens of smaller soldier demons scurried about it, pouncing on screaming humans. The whole procession of the damned was headed straight for them, and was destroying anything and everything in the way.

Dante swallowed. "Oh, not good."

"You can say that again," said Patty, trying not to whimper at the terrifying sight.

"That's Berial, one of Lucifer's lieutenants," said Eva, standing directly behind the pair. They both jumped at the sound of her voice and turned, "That means he has found us."

"How?" asked Dante. Eva shook her head slowly, the uncertainty evident in her face.

"I don't know, but he has and we need to get out of here, now," She turned to look Dante in the eye and knelt down beside him, reaching for his hand. Patty recognised this at once as a sign that things were very bad. Apparently, so did Dante, who seemed genuinely worried.

"What are we going to do?" he said, trying to sound brave, though faltering at the sign of his mother's grim expression. Eva squeezed his hand.

"We're going to make for the garage and take your fathers car - you remember the one? With any luck we can get out on one of the roads and escape, but Dante, I want you to listen carefully ..." Patty knew the signs; she was giving The Speech. The scary one that no child should ever have to hear, when a mother knows that she might very well be speaking to her son or daughter for the last time.

"Mom ..." Dante's eyes were as wide as Patty's had been when she first saw the encroaching demons.

"Listen," she said, "If anything happens to me then I want you to take Skuld and get as far away as possible from here. Don't look back. Just go."

Dante's face hardened. Patty had seen this look before, back in the desert when he was holding onto her, refusing to leave her behind for Lucifer. "I wont," he said quietly, "I wont leave you."

"Dante, I'll be fine, just promise me-"

"No, you wont."

"Listen-"

"No, you listen!" Dante shook off her hand and glared at his mother, furious, "If I leave you then you will die! I know you will! I let father go, and he died! I left Vergil behind, and he died! You're the only family I have left, and I know, _I know_ that if I leave you I wont ever see you again! So don't give me the Final Speech and the Look, because I would rather die with you than save myself and have to live without you. And that's final."

He crossed his arms and etched defiance in every inch of his face. Tears rolled down Eva's cheeks and she embraced her son, while Patty watched on, welling up inside.

"Oh Dante," Eva said. She pulled away from him and gave him another serious Look. "Fine then. Go and get the keys and then meet us in the garage. Can you do that much for me at least?"

Dante nodded. "Right," he said, and hurried away. Eva waited until he was gone before turning to face Patty.

"Skuld, you care about Dante, don't you?" Eva asked her. Patty was startled by the question, but recovered herself and nodded.

"Of course," she said earnestly.

"I care about him too, he's all I have left of my family and I don't want to lose him," she said, "He might be willing to stand by my side come what may, but ... I want you to promise me something. Promise me that if something happens to me, you'll get him out of here. Promise me that you will take care of him and make sure he survives no matter what. Can you promise me that?"

Patty chewed her lip. Should she tell her? Perhaps not, but she was going to anyway, damn the consequences. She shook her head. "I can't. I'm sorry, but unless we do something different tonight, you are going to die."

"You don't know that for sure," Eva began, until Patty waved her hands and interrupted.

"I do! I do know! I'm from the future!"

Eva stared at her, taken aback. "I don't think-" she started to say.

"I'm a descendant of Allen Lowell," Patty blurted out, "He was the sorcerer that defeated the devil Abigail - a devil that rivalled the King of Hell in power - and I have inherited his magic. In my own time I was celebrating my birthday, and I made a wish, a wish that brought me here.

"In my time Dante is an adult, and he runs a business named Devil May Cry, and hunts demons for a living. He has a sword named Rebellion, which was a gift from his father. He has a framed picture of you in his office. He doesn't talk about his past, but his friends - and I count myself as one of them - all know that he lost his mother this very night ..." She rushed forwards and gripped Eva's hand tightly, looking right into her eyes, which were filled with confusion. "You see, tonight Dante loses everything. He grows up an orphan and it changes him. I realise that now. And I know what it's like; I lost my family too, and I grew up an orphan. I'm lucky though - my mother is alive, and I've finally been reunited with her. It's the greatest gift I could ever ask for, and I wouldn't change it for anything in the world. But if you die tonight ... my point is, now you know. You don't have to. The fact that I'm here means that we can change that. Maybe we can all get out of here alive. We have to at least try, right?"

Eva was at a complete loss for words. It was a lot to take in. Her mouth opened and closed a few times as she tried to make sense of the jumble of words Patty had told her. It was an incredible story ... but then incredible was all in a days work when you had two half-demon children from the Dark Knight Sparda. Strange things did happen. Was it possible?

"Dante ... in your time ... you say he hunts demons?"

Patty nodded, smiling. "Not just that - he helps people. He took care of me when demons tried to kill me, and looked after me until I found my mother again. He's saved the world more times than I can count, too. I've even heard that he defeated that creep Mundus!"

Eva half-raised a hand to her lips, smiling faintly. "Really ..." She closed her eyes and bowed her head slightly. "That's good to know. I always wondered what he'd grow up to be," She opened her eyes and looked straight at Patty, clasping her hands around the girl's, "But that makes this moment all the more important. You said it yourself - Dante saves the world. That means the whole world is counting on him, needs him. He's more important than me. Right now, all that matters is that he lives, for the future. The future must have Dante."

Patty's lip trembled. "But he needs you too! I need my mother, and he needs his!"

Eva shook his head. "He doesn't. If what you say is true, he'll get by just fine without me. I was afraid of what would happen to him if I died, but you have put my fears to rest. I know that even without me he will grow up to be a hero that saves countless lives. I couldn't ask for anything more."

Patty looked at her, aghast. "But don't you want to live? To be with him and take care of him as he grows up?"

"Of course I do! What mother wouldn't want to see her son grow up? But think - what would happen if you and Dante tried to change history, tried to save me at the risk of your own lives? At the risk of his? What would happen? The world would be overrun by evil," She shook her head sadly, "I wont risk that. Not for my sake. Not when there's a bright future at stake."

Patty didn't know what to say anymore. She'd run out of arguments to make. She knew what Eva was saying made perfect sense, but just because something was sensible didn't mean it was easy to swallow. She didn't like the thought of Eva dying no matter what the reason. Losing someone who cared so deeply for you hurt, and she wanted to spare Dante that pain any way she could. She sighed and her shoulders sagged. Eva smiled and hugged her tightly.

"Thank you for everything you've done," she whispered softly, "Whatever wish you made for your birthday, I'm glad you made it."

The ground shook and the windows rattled, they both felt it. They separated and Eva got to her feet, a look of grim yet satisfied determination set in her face. "Let's go, and remember - take care of Dante no matter what."

Patty wiped away her tears and nodded. Dante must not die.


	11. Chapter 11: Knock Knock

**DEVIL MAY CRY: BIRTHDAY BASH**

* * *

_Chapter 11: Knock Knock_

Dante was running across the main hall, keys clutched in his hand, when the ground shook under his feet. He stumbled for a moment and looked around. A memory surfaced suddenly in his mind - of bumping into that girl in the dark - for it was here that he had first met her, mere hours ago. It seemed longer.

Just then the front doors erupted in a hail of splinters, flying straight across the hall and smashing into the staircase. Dante flinched and took a step back from the impact, before glancing towards the entrance to see what had caused it.

Lucifer strode in, his eyes blazing with anticipation, great black wings unfurling from his back as he entered the majestic hall. Lightning flashed at the dramatically appropriate moment, and Dante could have sworn that the flashes briefly revealed Lucifer's true demonic visage; a vision of twisted beauty and corrupted grace. The devil's wings folded behind his back once more as he slowly turned to regard the young boy.

"Knock knock," he said.

Dante stumbled backwards, not taking his eyes off the figure. He bumped into something behind him, stopped and spun around. It was Lucifer. Shocked, Dante glanced over his shoulder at where Lucifer had been standing, unable to believe he could move so fast.

"Going somewhere?" said Lucifer, raising an eyebrow.

"How did you find us?" Dante asked, his voice cold and distant. He had no idea what he was going to do, but he wasn't going to cry out for help. He wouldn't give the creep the satisfaction.

Lucifer folded his arms and rested his index finger on his lips, striking a thoughtful pose. "Interesting you should ask that, because the answer is simply marvellous. Vergil told me."

Dante's heart stopped, at least it felt that way. "Vergil is dead. You're lying."

Lucifer cocked his head slightly, regarding Dante with an amused smile. "On the contrary - Vergil is stronger than you give him credit. He survived, and was only too willing to help me find you and your mother ... once he realised of course that you had all left him behind. Discarded him, like an unwanted puppy," Lucifer advanced on Dante, who walked backwards to keep out of his reach, "I took him in. Cared for him. He looks up to me now. I'm like the brother he really wanted but never had. He asked me to pay you all a visit, send you his regards."

Dante had backed up to the entrance, which was now devoid of any doors. He risked a look outside, though what he saw did little to comfort him; their lush garden was being torn apart by demons, who looked as if they were having the time of their lives. Beyond them the massive bulk of Berial continued to advance towards the estate, leaving a burning trail in its wake.

"Nowhere to run, no one to protect you," Lucifer tsk'd, "What is a boy to do?"

Good question, Dante thought. He didn't have an answer. As it turned out, he didn't need one; a pale blue energy wave swept over them, causing Lucifer to stagger sideways, flinching in pain.

"Get the hell away from my son!" yelled Eva, a broken vial of holy water lying at her feet. Patty stood at her side, alarmed. Dante wasted no time and ran right for them, not stopping until he was safely between the two. Lucifer regained his balance and shot Eva a look of mild annoyance.

"Ouch," he said. Eva held a hand out to keep Patty and Dante behind her.

"Get out of here," she said, not taking her eyes off Lucifer.

"Forget it! I said I wouldn't leave you and I meant it!" Dante insisted, not budging.

"What are you going to do? Fight me with your bare hands?" Lucifer chuckled, "You don't stand a chance."

"Beg to differ," said Eva. She reached up and opened her overcoat, revealing a harness beneath. It was stuffed full of glowing gold-yellow stars, pulsating with immense energy. Untouchables. Lucifer stopped, momentarily surprised. Eva was suddenly enveloped in a halo of pure white light, the first of the magical artefacts activating. She lowered her hands and strode purposefully towards him.

"This should be interesting," Lucifer observed. He summoned a swarm of energy blades and sent them all directly at Eva. They exploded with a thunderclap so forceful that any human would have been ripped apart. Eva emerged from the blast unscathed, drawing a double-barrel shotgun and firing it directly into Lucifer's face.

As Dante gazed at the furious battle unfolding before him, he remained oblivious to Patty, who slipped behind him and clamped a cloth over his mouth and nose. The cloth was soaked in chloroform - enough to kill several fully grown adults. To Dante, it merely made him groggy. He struggled feebly for a few seconds before becoming limp.

"I'm sorry about this Dante, but I made a promise," said Patty, putting her arms around him and leading him away from the battle.

"No ... mother ..." Dante mumbled, his head lolling back and forth. As Patty led him through darkened corridors the sounds of chaos filled the air. She flinched as the entire building shook, dust raining down from the ceiling and windows creaking from the strain. They stopped as an assault demon burst through one of the doorways. Patty held it at bay with her pendant, the creature shying away from the stones light.

"Okay," she said, fighting to remain calm, "Looks like we'll have to go another way."

They cut through a dining room, Patty leading Dante as fast as his sluggish feet would carry him. One of the walls ahead of them exploded from some huge impact, the shockwave knocking the two children to the floor, glass from broken windows cascading over them. Dante groaned. When Patty looked up, half of the room was now on fire, flames consuming furniture, curtains and even the remaining walls and ceiling. The heat was intense.

She pulled Dante to his feet and turned away from the blaze, thinking to retrace their steps and find some other way out. The entrance to the dining room was filled with demons, their razor sharp claws snicking together in eager anticipation of a kill. Patty held her pendant before her to keep them away, but with a sinking sensation she realised that they were trapped. Between fire and foe, there was no way out.


	12. Chapter 12: Buying Time

**DEVIL MAY CRY: BIRTHDAY BASH**

* * *

_Chapter 12: Buying Time_

Eva and Lucifer skidded away from each other, landing half a dozen feet apart. The hall was wrecked, and parts of it were now on fire. In the distance Eva could hear the shrieks of demons invading her home, tearing through rooms in search of her son. She narrowed her eyes at Lucifer, who continued to remain smug. He pointed at her.

"Time's up," he said with a hint of satisfaction. Eva glanced down and saw her final Untouchable star go dark, and with it her halo of protection faded away. Her heart sank as she realised this was it. The end.

Looking up, she was startled to see Lucifer standing directly in front of her. His hand became a blur and she felt a sudden pain in her chest. Lucifer grinned and withdrew his hand, removing her still beating heart in the process. Eva stared at it in mute shock as he examined it intently, and then looked back at her.

"I always knew I would break your heart," he said, and squeezed. Eva gasped and collapsed.

With a sigh, Lucifer stepped over her body and set off after his next target.

Dante Must Die.

* * *

Dante had recovered and was furious, to say the least.

"I can't believe you!" He yelled at her, "My mother is back there, fighting for her life. She needs our help!"

Patty was trying to keep her eyes on the demons and the advancing flames, yet she spared a glance for Dante. "If I hadn't have done what I had, we'd both be dead. Besides, do you honestly think either of us could have helped fight Lucifer?"

"We could have at least tried!"

"Dante, he's out of our league!"

Dante stamped his foot, looking for all the world like the child he really was. "I don't care! I'd still fight him and die trying," He made to march right at the horde of demons in front of them, but Patty grabbed him by the arm and spun him around to face her.

"Listen to me - there is more here at stake than your mom's life! Right now, there is nothing more important than getting you out of here alive. Believe me."

"Why? Why should I believe you after what you did?" Dante fumed. Patty bit her lip.

"Because I've saved your life at least twice now. I don't want you to die. More than that, you're destined for great things. I know, I know - that sounds really corny, but it's true. Just ... please believe me."

Dante stared at her, angry, upset and confused. He wasn't sure what to do. As he heard the hissing of the demons behind him, he jerked a thumb over his shoulder at them. "Can't you blast them like the ones back in Pandemonium?"

Patty didn't know. "I don't know," she said, "I could give it a try," She coughed as the smoke started to get to her, and took a step towards the demons, holding her pendant in front of her. Almost at once they parted and slipped away, leaving the way clear. Patty gaped. "Wow."

The demons had not backed off because of her however - they did so to allow Lucifer to enter the burning dining room. He looked at the trapped pair with a content smile.

"At last, the climax approaches," he said, clasping his hands together, the gloves making a horrible squelching sound due to the blood that coated one of them. Dante noticed and felt like the world had just opened up beneath him.

"You killed my mother," he said in a monotone, as if reading a report. His own hands were scrunched into fists at his side, trembling. Lucifer shrugged.

"I had to. Orders from Mundus. All things considered, I'd say he will be quite satisfied with tonight's events. Things couldn't have gone better ..."

While they were talking, Patty was trying to think of a way out of this mess. She had an idea - a long shot, relying on a lot of assumptions. Still, she had to try. She stepped forwards to stand beside Dante, and faced Lucifer directly.

"Please - before you kill us, will you give us a moment together?" She pleaded. Dante looked sideways at her, startled. Even Lucifer seemed surprised by her apparent admission of defeat.

"Very well," he said, "I've always been a sucker for romance ..."

She grabbed Dante by the arm and pulled him away, bringing him face to face with her. She leaned her head close to his, until their faces were almost touching, and whispered to him.

"Dante, I think I can get us out of this, but I need your help."

He blinked, surprised again. "Okay ... what do you want me to do?"

"I want you to lend me your power, your demonic energy. Transfer it to me, as much as you can."

"I don't know how to do that though," he protested.

"Just concentrate - and trust me!" She pulled Dante closer, hugging him as tightly as she could whilst squeezing her eyes shut. They held each other tight, surrounded by fire and demons, and concentrated, focusing every ounce of willpower they possessed. Patty felt it then - the energy, crimson arcs of power that surged from Dante to her, charging every cell in her body and giving her the biggest rush she'd ever felt.

"NO!" Lucifer cried out, reaching for them as a swirling vortex of energy enveloped the pair. He was too late, and in a flash of light they were gone ...


	13. Chapter 13: No Place Like Home

**DEVIL MAY CRY: BIRTHDAY BASH**

Here it is - the final chapter! Yay, finished! Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed and put this story in their alert/favourite lists. I hope you all enjoyed this, I had fun writing it. I know Patty is far from being a popular character, but I hope I managed to make a good fic all the same.

* * *

_Chapter 13: No Place Like Home_

Dante stared glumly at the glowing haze in the distance, knees drawn up under his chin, hands wrapped around his legs. Patty sat next to him in silence, not knowing what to say. She had saved them by using Dante's power to teleport to safety, but Eva had still died. Really ... had she changed anything by coming to this time? Dante was now an orphan, his family all gone.

"Lucifer told me Vergil is alive," said Dante, his voice glum. Patty stared at him.

"Do you believe him?"

"I ... I'd rather not."

Patty blinked, unsure she had heard him right. "What? Surely you don't mean that?"

"He told me ..." Dante's face tightened, "He said that Vergil sold us out. That he told Lucifer where to find us."

She couldn't believe it. Sure, Vergil could be annoying at times, but to sell his mother and twin brother out to a monster like that? She shook her head. "No way. He wouldn't."

Dante continued to stare at the haze of the burning town. "Maybe. I just can't help thinking that we should never have left him behind."

"Dante, Lucifer is just messing with your head. He wanted you to suffer before he killed you. It's just the kind of thing he'd say to hurt you."

He finally tore his gaze away from his hometown and glared at Patty. "Vergil isn't dead. I can feel him. He's still alive, and ... I can feel his resent."

"Resent?"

"Towards me. I'm his twin brother, and I left him for dead. He would never have done that to me, not even if it meant his own life. We live together and die together. Except ... I didn't. I cut and ran."

Patty was quiet. She didn't have any siblings herself (as far as she knew), but she'd heard that twins - especially identical ones - had a connection. If one was hungry, the other would be hungry. If one scraped their knee, the other would feel the pain too. Add to that the fact that Dante and Vergil were anything but normal ... she couldn't argue if he felt Vergil was alive.

"If you're right," she said slowly, thinking, "then that means he's sided with the demons."

Dante looked back at the burning town, frowning. "Yeah. He sold out his own family to demons. I was wrong to leave him behind, but what he did ... I cant ever forgive him for that," His eyes narrowed, "If I ever meet him again ... I'll make him pay."

Patty watched him and shivered. She looked away and stared into the distance. "What are you going to do now?"

"Don't know," he said, "I can't use any of my parents stuff, not if Vergil is on their side. They'd be waiting for me to try, and I'd just be walking into a trap."

Patty nodded. "You can't use your own name now, either. Not for a while anyway."

Dante unfolded his arms and legs and stretched out on the grassy hill. "True. I'll think of something," He glanced across at her, "Don't suppose I could stay with you?"

Patty hesitated, unsure what to say. "No ... probably not a good idea. Lucifer knows exactly who I am. If we stick together there's a chance he'd get both of us."

Dante sighed. "So we have to go our separate ways. Just my luck. Will I ever see you again?"

Patty smirked, just a little. "Probably," She watched him rub his eyes, looking incredibly weary. Not surprising. Just then, a thought occurred to her. "Hey Dante, do you have something I can write with?"

Dante rummaged through his pockets, eventually producing a small stub of pencil and an old crumpled receipt. Patty took them and jotted a note down on the blank side before handing them back. "Here," she said, "Try this place out."

Dante took her note and peered at it. "An address? What is it?"

"It's the orphanage I grew up in," she said, "it's a good place to stay if you can't find anywhere else. They'll take good care of you there until you can figure something out."

Dante smiled sadly and tucked the address away, "Thanks. What about you?"

"I'll be fine," she said, "don't worry about me."

They both got to their feet and stood around awkwardly for a few moments. Dante rubbed the back of his neck and stared at the ground.

"Okay then, I guess I'll see you around," he said. Patty watched him with puppy-dog eyes as he turned and walked away. Unable to stop herself, she ran after him and flung her arms around him, hugging him tightly. Dante smiled. When he felt her let go he turned around to say something to her.

She was gone.

Dante blinked. "Skuld? Are you there?"

Silence.

He was alone.

With a weary sigh, Dante turned and left.

* * *

"Where did she go?" Lady demanded.

"Why are you looking at me?" Dante asked, offended at her accusatory glare. He carefully put the smoking candle down and stepped away from it.

"Trish?" Lady asked, turning to the blond demon. Trish merely shrugged.

"I've got nothing."

"What happened to my daughter?" said Nina, searching about frantically, "Is this a joke?"

"Nope, there she is," Dante pointed towards the corner of his office, where Patty stood with her back to them all, "Wow, that girl can really move."

Everyone turned to regard her, and they noticed that something was ... off about her. Her previously clean birthday clothes were crumpled and soot-stained, her hair a tangled mess. She continued to face the corner of the room, not moving or making a sound.

"Patty? Honey? Are you all right?" Nina asked, taking a step towards her silent daughter. Patty spun around to face them, her eyes shining.

"I'm fine!" She chirped, smiling. Lady and Trish exchanged looks. Patty ran towards her mother and wrapped her hands around her waist, embracing her. Nina was puzzled, but comforted her daughter all the same. When Patty let go, she turned to Dante and did the same to him.

"Oh great, not again," he grimaced. Patty leaned her head back and gazed into his blue eyes, still smiling.

"You're okay!" She exclaimed.

"Uh ... thanks?" Dante responded, confused.

She chuckled and let go of him, much to his relief. Lady put her hands on her hips and frowned. "What happened to you? You look a mess."

Patty spun to face Lady, Trish and her mother and shrugged. "Nothing much. Took a stroll down the yellow brick road for a while. There's no place like home."

While they all seemed thoroughly bewildered, Patty stared at Trish. She really was the spitting image of Eva. It was ... nice. Dante may have lost his mother, but in a way he had sort of got her back again. She wondered for a moment how he felt about Trish, but let the thought go - there was no way this Dante would tell, he'd just crack a joke and move on. Patty clapped her hands together instead.

"So - who's for cake?"

* * *

Hours later everyone had left. Patty however stayed behind, offering to tidy up the mess in exchange for Dante giving her a lift home when she was done. He was only too happy to have someone return his office to normal, and her mother was fine with it - Dante had taken care of Patty for the better part of a year after all.

When she was done and giving the place one final sweep, she stopped and leaned on the brush, glancing over at Dante, who was lounging on the couch reading a magazine.

"Hey Dante?"

"Yeah kid?"

She winced at that, but let it go. "It's still technically my birthday, you know."

"Uh-huh," he said, not really listening.

"I was wondering if you could grant me a favour - a birthday favour, as a kind of present."

"So long as it doesn't involve moving or paying for something, sure," he replied, turning the page. Patty snatched the magazine from his hands and tossed it away.

"Hey! I was reading that!"

"My birthday favour!" She said. Dante sat up, annoyed.

"Fine. What is it?"

"I want you to answer some questions, that's all. But ... I want you to be honest. Don't treat me like a kid and just brush me off - you have to promise to give me proper answers."

Dante scratched his head and stifled a yawn. "Sure. What'dya want to know?"

She stared at him. "What happened to your brother?"

Dante said nothing for a long moment. Finally he gave her a suspicious look. "How do you know I had a brother?"

Patty folded her arms. "That's not the deal; you have to answer my questions, not the other way around. So?"

"You really want to know?"

"Yes."

"... I killed him. He went to the dark side, we fought, and in the end I won. He's dead. That answer your question, kid?"

"Yes," She said, a little quieter. Dante got up from the couch, crossed the office and turned his jukebox on, letting some rock music fill the air. He went to his desk and sat down. Patty followed him and hopped up onto the edge of the desk, sitting there as he put his feet up.

"What, you got another question?"

Patty nodded. "Your first kiss. Do you remember it?"

Dante smirked. "That sounds more like you. Eh ... my first?" He leaned back and put his hands behind his head, "Yeah, I guess I remember. It was a long while ago; I was just a kid myself. Before your time."

"What was she like?"

"Can't remember her name," he said, causing Patty's heart to sink a little, "but she was a lot like you. About the same age, had the same hair ..." Dante looked at her strangely for a moment. Patty swallowed.

"What is it?"

Dante relaxed. "Nothing. Just had a little deja-vu," He sat bolt upright, suddenly alarmed "Ah hell, I hope it wasn't your mother ... the girl looked that much like you, now I think of it ..."

Patty sniggered and shook her head. "Don't worry, it wasn't my mother," she said, resisting the urge to laugh at the worried expression on his face.

"How do you know?"

"Trust me," she said, "it wasn't her."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he leaned back again and sighed deeply, "Well, she was sweet anyway. I kinda miss her, now I think about her again."

Patty smiled, feeling warm and fuzzy inside. Sweet! Ha! Should she tell him? "Yeah, well I bet a guy like you has been around a lot since then, right? Bet you've had plenty of girls since that first one."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure kid. I'm a real lady's man."

Patty slipped off the edge of his desk and brushed herself off. "You better not let Lady hear you say that."

Dante winced. "Good point. She can be really scary sometimes."

"Still, at least you've got me, right Dante?"

"Sure kid," he said, ruffling her hair as he walked past her towards the front door. Patty glared at his back, annoyed at him for a moment. Then she smiled and hurried after him.

"Hey Dante, can I ask one more question?"

He sighed. "If you like."

"If you had one wish, what would it be?"

That gave him pause for a moment. He stopped outside and looked up, thinking. "One wish?"

"Yeah."

He glanced around at her and smirked. "Pizza."

"Pizza?"

"Yup, pizza."

Patty stared at him. Then a grin spread across her face. "Can we?"

"What, get pizza?"

"Sure, why not?" Patty asked. Dante shrugged.

"It's a little late, and I have to get you home, remember?"

Patty put her hands on her hips and stuck out her chin, striking a defiant pose that gave Dante another feeling of deja-vu. "It's my birthday, and I wanna go and get some pizza!"

Dante tilted his head to one side and smiled faintly, thinking for a moment. Finally he gestured to his car, "Well all right then, hop in little lady."

Patty laughed and got in. As Dante slipped behind the wheel and started the car, Patty rubbed her hands together in anticipation.

"My first date!"

Dante frowned and pointed a finger in her direction, "Don't push it."

"What? Am I not good enough for you?"

"No, but I don't date jailbait. Besides, why are you acting this way all of a sudden? I thought you once said you'd never date someone like me in a million years."

Patty chuckled. "Maybe I'm just lowering my standards."

"Ouch. That hurt."

Patty leaned out of the side of the car slightly, letting the breeze cool her and stream her hair out behind her. "I know I'm too young for you, Dante," she said calmly, "Just ... let me pretend for my birthday ... please?"

Dante nodded and floored the accelerator, speeding down the dark street. "Okay Patty, it's a date then. No kissing, though."

Patty pulled herself back into her seat and put on her seatbelt. "Sure Dante. Oh, that reminds me, thanks again for the present."

"Hmm?"

"The DVD's? It's one of my favourite anime series, Ah My Goddess. It's about these three goddesses - Belldandy, Urd and Skuld. Skuld is my favourite. You'd like her."

Dante stared straight ahead, his eyes wide with shock. Beside him Patty sat in silence, grinning like the Cheshire cat.

THE END


End file.
